


Fruit Bats: Smoothie Bar of the Damned

by TooQueensWight



Series: Fruit Bats [1]
Category: Dracula - Bram Stoker, 終わりのセラフ | Owari no Seraph | Seraph of the End
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dracula Influence/References, Gen, Multi, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-05-24 21:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooQueensWight/pseuds/TooQueensWight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fruit Bats is the story of vegetarian vampires living in the Pacific Northwest, but please don't stop reading just yet. While it contains elements of parody, it is a serious story with elements of comedy, romance, drama and just enough action to keep my interest. It references multiple works, notably Dracula and Seraph of the End, as well as other vampire-related fiction. The story will be ongoing, and individual chapters will be part of larger acts, which will themselves make up a larger arc or "book". I intend to write this for as long as my close friends continue to show interest, and I have an interest in telling the story--the plan is to finish the first arc and see where we stand from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Cute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the urging of a friend of mine, I'm putting a note here: all Seraph characters have had their names changed. Hopefully this shouldn't be a deal-breaker to anyone interested in a good story, and this is an alternate universe anyway. I urge anyone considering not reading to give at least chapter 1 a try, as well as reading the note at the end of the chapter. Thank you, and enjoy!

To say that it was raining in the Pacific Northwest was not a statement at all--such was the natural course of events and declaring such is as pointless as saying grass is green or coffee is bitter, and yet it must be clear that on this day it was raining. Because if the rain had not been falling that miserable January morning, Ichiro Harrison would not have walked more quickly to the Starbucks at the corner of Main Street and Wolf Creek Way.

This is, of course, noteworthy. For Mikael Rowan _always_ left his home every day at _precisely_ 6:50 AM (to avoid the traffic of drivers leaving at 7:00 on the dot). Mikael then walked about the city of Redmond to find a place to spend his morning, isolating himself in a crowd while he read from his newest pick of the local library (a well furnished institution with several donations from a private collector). Thusly had he begun every morning for, shall we say, a significant length of time.

Ichiro Harrison, on the other hand, could not pick a single time to leave his house in preparation for class at Redmond Community College. He would leave his parents' home at any time between 6:30 AM to 7:45 AM depending on his classes, how greatly he desired attending them, how much sleep he had the night before, what he had decided to eat in the morning, what he had _actually_ eaten in the morning, etc. He drove the family car, a well-used Subaru with enough miles to have crossed the United States and back several times, into Redmond on this particular morning, to get breakfast.

But, it was raining. The rain in the Pacific Northwest is common, but usually very light--this does not stop Pacific Northwest drivers from slowing to a crawl when they are wont, and so Ichiro was running late. Left without enough time to collect for himself a proper breakfast, he instead opted to visit the new Starbucks in town, built at the corner of Main Street and Wolf Creek Way, at 7:05 AM. He exited his car and muttered curses at forgetting his umbrella at home, and jogged up to the door of what could modestly be called a café.

Ichiro was not tall but was possessed of a lanky jogger's build which seemed to make him look larger than he actually was. His dark hair was messy and uncombed, with a single cowlick extending up and curling back over the rest of his head. The falling rain was doing little to smooth or straighten this cowlick. So intent on avoiding the puddles in the parking lot was Ichiro, that he failed to notice the gentleman at the door of the establishment until he bumped into him.

This accident cannot be blamed entirely on Ichiro. Mikael had busied himself with thoughts of the book tucked neatly into his shoulder bag, and had not expected the youth to suddenly rush from the parking lot to the door. Of course Mikael was aware of the young man--as much as he was aware of every living thing in a city-block around him--but the burst of speed had surprised him. As was Ichiro--who bounced backward and nearly fell over while Mikael was barely moved by the impact.

"Oof--Oh, uh, sorry man." Ichiro looked up as he steadied himself. The stranger before him was not very much taller than he, if he was taller at all, but he was possessed of a posture that made it seem as though he was towering before Ichiro. His platinum blonde hair seemed to turn pure white at the tips as if frosted. The stranger's blue eyes looked over the rims of dark, circular-rimmed sunglasses to inspect Ichiro critically.

"Are you all right?" asked the stranger in a voice that seemed to mix concern and dissatisfaction in equal measure.

Ichiro nodded. "Y-yeah. I mean--I mean are you all right? I didn't mean to barrel right into you!" Ichiro straightened his jacket, leather dyed a deep purple, taking a second look at the pale stranger. He wore a white long coat, unbuttoned to reveal a fine suit beneath, and carried a shoulder bag over one arm but moved as though it weighed nothing. He exuded power but seemed gaunt, and his pale skin suggested he didn't see much sunlight.

Mikael pushed his glasses up, hiding the bright blue eyes behind darkness once more. He pulled open the door to Starbucks and gestured inside. "After you, please." Ichiro shrugged lightly and stepped inside, looking around before heading to the register. There was no line.

The barista at the counter smiled. "Good morning hon! What can I get you?" she asked full of cheer.

"Oh um… grande mocha and a bagel with cream cheese," Ichiro answered, pulling out his wallet.

The pale stranger spoke up behind him. "He'll have a pack of apple slices as well, and I'll be paying for his food," he intoned with commanding airs.

Ichiro blinked and turned. The stranger was taking his glasses off and putting them in the breast pocket of his long coat. The youth waved his hands. "No no, that's ok man! I bumped into you, you don't have to buy me--"

"Breakfast?" Mikael asked, with a bemused smirk. "It's the most important meal of the day, you know. And a bagel is a lot of empty calories with very few vitamins."

Ichiro pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. The pale man was right. "Well, sure, that's true, but still--"

"And I'll have a blended strawberry-banana smoothie," the stranger continued to say, speaking past Ichiro to the confused barista. After a moment she blinked and nodded, her bright smile returning.

"That will be $12.67!" she announced, ringing up the food and drinks. Ichirio stared at his benefactor in confusion, slowly slipping his wallet back into his pocket.

"Uh… thanks, mister…?" he asked slowly.

"Rowan. Mikael Rowan." Mikael extended his hand to shake Ichiro's--as the young man took the pale hand into his, he felt an intense grip, firm but not harmful. He shook the hand and smiled a little.

"Mister Mikael Rown, ok." He muttered quietly, "Sort of a fancy name…" then blinked and spoke more clearly: "Ichiro Harrison."

Mikael looked surprised. "That's a bit more fancy than Mikael, certainly in the United States. Are you named for the baseball player?"

Ichiro's mood changed instantly, his face scrunching into a sullen frown. "Everyone says that… I was already four when he got traded to the Mariners." Mikael blinked and covered his mouth, chuckling to himself, before Ichiro continued. "My mom is Japanese--my father met her in Okinawa. He was in the military."

A curious expression took hold of Mikael and he stared quizzically at Ichiro, then at his shoulder bag. It seemed to Ichiro that Mikael was having a silent conversation with himself, as he looked around the erstwhile café, then to the windows, then at the crew working behind the counter, before finally looking back at Ichiro. "Will you have a seat with me?" the pale man asked.

Ichiro blinked nervously. He looked around--he had no excuse _not_ to sit, at least while he waited for their drinks to be made. Still, this was a much longer conversation than he had intended to have to begin with, and now the two of them were sitting and talking? "W-well sure, why not?" Ichiro said, forcing a smile.

Mikael seemed to sense his nervousness, and smiled lightly, informing Ichiro, "I promise you, I don't bite." The curious merriment expressed on Mikael's face upon saying that did nothing to convince Ichiro of the veracity of such a claim. Still, the pair sat down at an empty table. Mikael pulled a book from the shoulder bag he'd been carrying, and set it upon the table before Ichiro. The young man read the cover, his face contorting in surprise.

" _Embracing Defeat_ ," he said, "by John W. Dower. Embracing defeat? Sounds sort of… defeatist…" He looked carefully at the cover and then raised his eyebrows when he noticed the book proudly bore the announcement "Pulitzer Prize Winner".

"It is a book about defeat, and about how defeat can be positive," Mikael said in explanation. "It is a book about Japan, and America. About what America did in the wake of World War Two." Mikael removed his sunglasses, and it suddenly occurred to Ichiro how odd it was for the pale man to have sunglasses on a cloudy January day in the first place, much less leave them on indoors. But without the glasses, Mikael's large, blue eyes sparkled as they darted about the room, noting every detail and every movement before focusing on Ichiro.

A sudden thought occurred to Ichiro. "Hey… yeah my mom and dad have talked about… the reconstruction period. Mom was born a couple decades after World War 2, and so was my dad, but… America has bases and things all over Japan, even today. That's how my parents met."

Mikael nodded, and continued. "When Germany lost after the… first world war, it was left in economic shambles. Hitler took advantage of this bitter climate, and whipped Germany into a frenzy, leading to the European theater of World War Two. America saw what Europe had not--that a beaten dog is likely to bite the hand of the next passerby. They determined they would not let this happen to Japan. They worked directly with the Japanese government and Japanese people, investing in them, helping them back to prosperity. Asking for… only a few things in return."

Ichiro was enraptured. Though Mikael was saying little--in fact, saying much of what Ichiro had already learned from history class--the _way_ in which Mikael spoke of it was so different. He spoke with _authority_ , with a belief in his words Ichiro found far more exciting than lectures in school. He realized Mikael had paused, as if inviting Ichiro to speak. "So… what… sorts of things did they ask for… if their bargaining position was so strong?" he asked Mikael.

"The most important was a dismantling of Japan's war machine. Japan would be left practically defenseless against theoretical attacks from neighbors in Asia, such as Russia and China. Japan would have to rely on America itself to defend her," Mikael explain. Ichiro found it curious that he would refer to a nation as a _her_ , rather than a _he_ or _it_. "In addition to this, the Japanese… government had to make certain changes as well."

"Like… what?" Ichiro asked hesitantly.

Mikael smiled in a way that showed little happiness. "The Emperor of Japan was forced to renounce his god-hood."

Ichiro stared at Mikael. After a moment he started laughing. "The… he had to do what? The Emperor isn't a god! There are tons of emperors! They don't like, live forever!"

The smile melted from Mikael's face. Ichiro stopped snickering, worried that he had offended his patron's good will. But when Mikael spoke, he had not an ounce of ill-will. "The Japanese have long believed that the royal family is of divine origin, descended of _Amaterasu_ , the goddess of the… sun." Mikael put an odd emphasis on the word sun, but he continued before Ichiro could think much on it. "Hence the nickname often given to Japan: _Land of the Rising Sun_. They believe their country to belong to this goddess. Well… belief is a funny thing." Mikael let out a sigh and glanced outside. "If you asked a modern citizen of Japan they might tell you these things are only legends and myths. Stories told for the sake of pride and nationalism."

Ichiro furrowed his brow. He certainly didn't believe in god emperors or anything like that. "But America made the Emperor denounce himself anyway? If the Japanese people don't really believe in that stuff, what would the big deal be?"

Mikael turned his gaze back to Ichiro and gave him another sad smile. "It is not an easy thing to disappoint your country. More than simply denouncing his divinity, the Emperor was telling Japan that they must abide their place in the world, and… _embrace defeat_." He tapped the book again before slipping it back in his shoulder bag. "If you want to learn more, I suggest reading the book yourself; I'll be done with this copy soon enough." Mikael stood and put his glasses back on--as if on cue, the woman behind the counter announced that Ichiro and Mikael's drinks and food were ready. Mikael took his fruit smoothie and sipped it--there was just a tinge of disappointment in his face, but he nodded to Ichiro as he headed to the door.

Ichiro grabbed his own drink and the food Mikael had bought, then exclaimed, "Wait!" Mikael paused, a little surprised, and blinked at Ichiro who jogged over. "I'm about to go to class but--the way you talk about these things is a lot more interesting than the way my teachers do!"

Mikael smiled softly and bowed his head in thanks. "You're too kind to say so," he assured Ichiro, but the young man kept going.

"Could… could you meet with me again maybe? Talk about this stuff some more? You sound like you just finished college yourself." Ichiro smiled--then frowned as Mikael laughed at him.

"Do I? Well you are too kind, I didn't know I had the look of a college graduate." Ichiro slumped as he was laughed at, but Mikael quickly shook his head. "I'm not laughing at you, my friend, only that I could be mistaken… ah but forgive me. I should not be so dismissive. If you're serious about talking again, please meet me at my business."

Mikael produced a business card from his jacket and handed it to Ichiro. In contrast to Mikael's blue eyes, white suite and golden-blonde hair, the business card was brown and red. Bold, black lettering announced it to advertise the _Flying Fox_ , a fresh fruit seller, smoothie bar and restaurant. Ichiro blinked. "You work at a place that makes smoothies, and you're buying one from Starbucks?" he asked incredulously.

"One must always know what they're competing against, musn't they? Even if the competition is a bit lacking." Mikael walked off, waving the arm holding his smoothie in farewell. "Study hard, Ichiro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people who got here on the Mika x Yuu tag may be a little confused. I've decided to add notes at the end of chapters to explain some of what I've done. Firstly, for the purposes of the Fruit Bats universe, I've changed the names of all the Seraph of the End (Owari no Seraph) characters. This is because many of them are going to have a lot of differences between the actual Seraph versions, and I don't want to be accused of getting too out-of-character with them.
> 
> For instance, while Mikaela of Seraph has only been a vampire for a few years, Mikael Rowan has been a vampire for _much_ longer. Yuuichirou and Ichiro are a little more similar (as far as personality goes), but Ichiro's parents are alive and well in this story, and fairly supportive of him. As new characters are introduced, I'll explain my reasoning as to who they are and any changes I make--but I'll try not to spoil anything down the road.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and if you're still interested, there's plenty more where this came from!


	2. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro cannot stop thinking about the curious encounter he had at the coffee shop before class. Determined to learn more, he seeks out the strange business called the _Flying Fox_...

Even though it was only two classes--four hours of school total--it felt like the longest day of Ichiro's life. What was it he found so interesting about Mikael? Was it his attitude? His personality? He couldn't have been that much older than Ichiro, but he spoke as though he'd been all sorts of places. Was he in the military? Had he served overseas? Was--

" _Mister Harrison_!" the professor intoned.

Ichiro looked up from his daydream. Most of the class was giggling at him. "Uh, yes sir?"

The professor groaned. "I was hoping you could give us the conversion of 15 and half quarts into metric units."

Ichiro blinked. "Oh sure, let me just use the app on my phone." There was even more laughter from the class.

The professor was quickly growing irate. "The point of this lesson is to teach you how to do conversion WITHOUT your smart phone, mister Harrison!!"

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "When am I going to need to do that--and not have my phone in my pocket?? I take this everywhere!" Ichiro had fished the smart phone out to wave around tauntingly. It was his most precious possession, given to him by his parents when he graduated high school.

"You'll… need it for--" the professor started to say, but lacking any concrete answer, he resorted to threats. "You will put that away in my classroom or I'll confiscate it next time!"

Ichiro rolled his eyes and put the phone away grumbling, flipping open his notebook to look for the correct conversion formula. Class could not end soon enough.

\---

When his classes finally were over, Ichiro entered the address from Mikael's business card into his phone's navigation application and drove there as fast as the speed limit allowed--as one might expect from a teenager with his own car. Lacking completely in expectations, Ichiro still managed to be surprised when he found the shopping center where the _Flying Fox_ was located.

While the business card had indicated it was a restaurant of some sort, the full building seemed large enough to be a grocery store--perhaps even larger. It dominated one corner of the shopping center's parking lot, and the building itself seemed… separate… perhaps older than the surrounding businesses. If that were the case, Ichiro thought, it was kept in impeccable condition--while the architecture was in an older style, there was no sign of wear or aging anywhere he could see. The parking lot was about half-full, and Ichiro had little trouble finding a spot.

The sky was fairly dark with clouds as he walked to the door, but the rain from the morning had stopped. Ichiro paused at the ornate wood-and-glass doors, thinking they would have made more sense for a mansion than a café, before he opened them. The interior was just as baffling as the exterior--the lighting was bright at the entrance but deep inside it seemed to dim, giving a number of tables the appearance of being isolated from one another for privacy. On his left was a long bar-counter, behind which were three large chalkboards listing the smoothie flavors of the day. And on the right were displays full of fresh fruit and a few vegetables, much as one might find in the vegetable section of a super market.

But it was the décor that stunned Ichiro so completely. The whole business seemed made out of wood-paneled furniture much too extravagant for a smoothie bar. The booths and tables had intricate carvings on the sides, and even the lampshades were hand-crafted pieces of glass, no two exactly the same. Much too nice for place that supposed made its money selling blended beverages to health-nuts and hipsters. In contrast to the splendor of the establishment sat a woman at the restaurant counter who looked as though she might have died of boredom at any moment. Even so, when she caught a glance at Ichiro she only sighed, apparently not anxious to even do her job.

"Welcome to the Flying Fox, where you thirst will be quenched by the freshest ingredients available. I'm Serena, and I'll be your server. Have a seat where ever you like and I'll be with you shortly." Serena, it seemed, could not be less interested in helping Ichiro. Her hair was black, but with bright red tips--except at her roots, where her blonde hair was showing how cheaply her dye job had been performed. She had very dramatic makeup that gave her dark circles around her brown eyes, and wore an outfit that looked like it belonged on a maid, not a waitress, but Ichiro couldn't tell if it was the standard uniform or something she elected to wear herself.

He gave her an unimpressed look and found a booth further back, in the darker part of the restaurant. _What am I doing_? He thought. _I should have showed her the card, or at least asked about Mikael_. He sighed and stuffed his book bag on the seat next to him and began surfing the web using his phone, looking for more books like _Embracing Defeat_. If he had not been so driven to avoid looking around the restaurant itself, he may have noticed the short woman with purple-dyed hair walk in. He also would have noticed Serena spring to life, and perhaps even heard the gothically-vested waitress express her fondness for "Miss Karter."

But, in fact, he did not. So it startled him quite a great deal when he found he was suddenly sharing his booth with the purple-haired women, whose eyes were such a saturated brown they looked almost red. She smiled coyly even though her eyes made her look half asleep. "You're new," she observed.

Ichiro nearly dropped his phone and scrambled to keep it in his hands, and quickly pocketed it. "I was already sitting here--and there are plenty of tables," he pointed out. All the nearby tables were empty, as were the adjoining booths.

"I can see that. I didn't want to sit at an empty table," she explained, still smiling. Her voice was polite, but it had a detached air to it, as if she were reading from a script or something.

Ichiro didn't care how polite she sounded. "Well, I don't want you to sit with me," he stated plainly. "I'm waiting for someone."

"Then they can join us, can't they?" cooed the purple-haired woman. She took off an expensive-looking black jacket and set it next to her, revealing a strange outfit that looked more like a private school uniform than anything else. In some ways it seemed to match Serena's outfit, but looked much more casual. "My name is Shanon. Shanon Karter. But you can call me Cami if you like."

Ichiro blinked. This was growing stranger for him every moment! "Shanon--Karter--Cami!?" His voice became harsh. "Listen, I don't want my friend to think I'm here with you and not come to sit down when he arrives."

"He won't," she assured him. And now he realized she wasn't sleepy--her eyes expressed how much more she seemed to know about this situation than he did.

But that was nonsense. How could she know who he was? And for that matter… "How could you know who I'm waiting--"

"Mikael," she said simply, cutting Ichiro off before he could finish. "You're waiting for Mikael Rowan. And frankly, I've been waiting for you--or someone like you--for quite some time. He's been dragging his feet." The small smile she had melted away as she sighed and looked out the window. Ichiro frowned.

"You… know Mikael?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes of course. I know all the owners," she said, as if that explained everything, and turned back to look at Ichiro. Her smile had returned.

Ichiro blinked. "Owner--he's an _owner_?" That couldn't be right. Mikael was perhaps one or two years older than Ichiro-- _maybe_ he was twenty one. Certainly not old enough to own part of a business! "That's nonsense. And how do you know all the owners?"

"Because she's an owner as well," came a voice from closer to the entrance of the building. It was Mikael, handing his jacket to Serena--who looked as starstruck as she had when Shanon/Cami had entered (though Ichiro was only now seeing this display of adoration for the first time). He walked over to the table, and the purple-haired girl slid to the side to make room for Mikael. Ichiro kept gawking.

"How… do the two of you… own a-a--stake in this business?" He could not believe his ears. Even if Mikael were twenty-one, the girl seemed _younger_ than Ichiro. Surely this was some joke, something to make the two of them sound impressive?

"Heh. Stake." Cami giggled. "Mikael, should you explain or should I?" she asked, her rich-brown eyes sparkling.

Mikael waved her off. "I'll explain as best I can," he said, before addressing Ichiro. "Cami, myself and the other owners… inherited this business. You could say it's been in our family for a _very_ long time. And while I know it seems ridiculous to you, I can assure you we're doing quite well for ourselves." He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together and giving Ichiro a coy smile. "That explains _our_ situation. I'm now curious to know what _you_ are doing here, mister Harrison."

Ichiro blinked. What was it he hoped to learn by coming here? "W-well, I mean--I um… enjoyed our chat this morning, at Starbucks. So I thought, you know… maybe we could talk some--"

"You went to a _Starbucks_?" Cami asked Mikael in an accusatory tone, interrupting Ichiro mid-sentence. "You didn't put any of that _filth_ in your body, did you?"

Mikael sighed. As he spoke, Ichiro realized that some of his teeth seemed rather sharp, and perhaps larger than normal, but he paid it little mind while he listened to the pale man speak. "As I told Ichiro here, it's important to know one's competition, so I decided to sample their new smoothie. You'll be delighted to know it is sub-par when compared to our selection," he said wryly to Cami, who seemed unconvinced.

"Sub-par is better than terrible, which makes it dangerous when made by a multi-billion--wait, did you say your name was Ichiro?" Cami turned her attentions entirely on Ichiro, her eyes widening to full alertness for the first time since he had met her. "Are you named after Ichiro Suzuki?"

Ichiro groaned. "Why does everyone assume I'm named after the _baseball player_? Like I told Mikael, I was four when he got traded to the Mariners."

Cami seemed either insulted or unsatisfied, and had a sulking look on her face, until Mikael spoke. "He is Japanese-American, Cami. But try not to scare him with your hobby."

Cami blinked, and squinted at Ichiro, as if looking him over for a second time, but her face lit up after a moment. "Oh he IS! Have you been to Japan? I love cosplay! What do you think of my outfit?" She practically leapt over Mikael who grunted awkwardly, adjusting his glasses after Cami got free. The purple-haired girl twirled, making her pleated skirt rise up a little. She had a natural grace that surprised Ichiro, given her somewhat detached demeanor from earlier. "It's custom-made, bespoke--I bought it online, but it fits perfectly. Wonderful, isn't it?"

Ichiro raised eyebrow and stared at her for a moment before remarking, "It looks sort of like a sailor's uniform."

Cami blinked and let out an exasperated sigh. "It's called a _seifuku_! Don't you know anything about your homeland?"

Ichiro practically growled. "I was born in Seattle! I'm not a foreigner! I don't even know much Japanese."

Cami paused, then grinned like a cheshire cat. " _Nihongo no hanashimasen_ … ehhh?" Mikael reached over and flicked her ear, startling her and causing her to harrumph. "I can't help it if he's not in touch with his own culture."

"Not everyone is as cultured as we are, Cami. You would do to remember that, lest you offend my guest," he said. Ichiro thought there was an almost possessive tone to his voice, but he did not feel offended. If anything, he was happy to be Mikael's guest rather than Cami's target.

"Um, thank you mister Rowan. Mikael." Ichiro smiled nervously.

"Just Mikael, please. I'd like to think we could all be friends here… Right, Shanon?" Mikael pushed up his glasses to look at Cami through the dark lenses. She looked indignant--then leaped completely over Mikael to land neatly on the seat next to him.

" _Hai_ , _hai_." Ichiro stared wide-eyed at the athletic display. "That means yes, by the way." Her cheshire grin returned as she looked at Ichiro with lazy eyes.

"I know what hai means!" Ichiro exclaimed. The outburst only made Cami's grin broaden… and caused Mikael to chuckle lightly. Ichiro's face sank at Mikael's apparent merriment, but the platinum blonde shook his head.

"She's trying to rile you up, Ichiro. Don't fall for her bait. And remember that no matter how much she thinks she knows of Japan, you will always been more Japanese than she is." Mikael gave Cami the same sort of look Cami had been giving Ichiro. Cami seemed as indignant at such a look as Ichiro had been a moment before.

"He doesn't appreciate his own culture as much as I do, that's all." She gave Ichiro another lazy grin as she conjectured, "I bet he hasn't even been to Japan."

Ichiro pursed his lips and grumbled, "I've been trying to get my parents to let me study overseas. I do _want_ to visit Japan. I just don't know the language very well yet."

This admission made both Cami and Mikael soften their looks. Mikael smiled gently as he spoke. "It's good to have a goal. Well--it's dark quite early this time of year, isn't it? Ichiro, would you do me the courtesy of walking down to the library so that I might return _Embracing Defeat_? Then you can check it out."

Ichiro blinked. "You… finished it already? But it's only been a day…"

"I read quickly," Mikael said with a smirk. "But, what do you say to my offer?"

Ichiro smiled, and relaxed. "I'd love to." As they got up to leave though, Ichiro eyed Serena, who still seemed to have hearts in her eyes as she stared at Mikael and Cami in a trance-like state. "You know, she said she'd be my server but she… never actually served me."

Mikael and Cami sighed with downcast eyes and responded in unison: "She never does."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first thing I should make clear: Shanon Karter, aka Cami, is an expy of Shinoa from Seraph of the end. I prefer "expy" as a term (try looking at TV Tropes for more information: [Expy](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Expy)) rather than just a "substitute." For starters, Shinoa doesn't do cosplay... but Cami is, in some ways, cosplaying as Shinoa. Cami is based not only on Shinoa, but another literary figure... and largely inspired by one of the queens in TooQueensWight. (Wink.)
> 
> Serena, on the other hand, is someone new and not originating in the Seraph universe. She would introduce herself to you as "Serena Moonshadow" but that's not her legal name. I like to imagine that if this were an actual manga, she would have little hearts drawn in her eyes when she looked at Cami and Mikael. She won't be a major character but she will show up again later... eventually.


	3. Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro and Mikael stroll to their local library. Ichiro finds the library is more than it appears, and Mikael finds he has involved Ichiro in more than either imagined...

Ichiro and Mikael made their way to the library--as it turned out, the building was just down the street from the _Flying Fox_ , barely two blocks away. Ichiro wondered why Mikael would want someone to go with him such a short distance, but at least the rain had let up. The sky was beginning to clear and Ichiro could just see a full moon at the horizon.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Ichiro." Mikael smiled. It was a warm smile, and it made Ichiro feel… strange, but also completely at ease. "It must seem silly to ask you to walk with me when the library is so close."

"Um… well the thought had occurred to me," Ichiro admitted. "But I just…"

Ichiro stopped, while Mikael took a few more steps forward before turning to blink at his new friend. His look of confusion turned to a good-humored smile when he saw the amazement on Ichiro's face. Ichiro had never actually been to the library, but he realized now that he had driven past it many times, without really looking at it. And what a sight it was!

Ichiro had never realized it was a library because it actually looked like a _cathedral_. The gothic architecture was splendid, with a tall stairway leading up to three sets of identical doors. The building was made of a cream-colored marble with dark streaks all over the stonework--a very impressive example of masonry, consisting of columns, arches and gargoyles. It looked like a building that belonged in the heart of Europe, not the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

"What… how…" Ichiro stared, thinking he must have the wrong building, but when he looked closely he could see "LIBRARY" written clearly above the middle door at the top of the steps.

"A wonderful building, isn't it? This used to be a church, built before the city itself, actually." Mikael turned to enjoy the structure himself. "I've been here plenty of times but I never take this wonderful place for granted. And it helps when I have someone like you to show it to."

Ichiro blinked and looked at Mikael, who was smiling brightly. He could only nod mutely before Mikael started walking again. "H-hey wait up!" Ichiro called out, jogging to catch up with his companion.

\---

"Oh hello mister Rowan! And how are you tonight?" asked the librarian at the main desk as Mikael handed over _Embracing Defeat_.

"Wonderful Sarah, thank you for asking." Mikael took his glasses off to smile politely at the librarian as she scanned the book back into the system. "Busy day?"

Sarah laughed. "Oh you're such a kidder mister Mikael! But actually yes, we're always a little busier during the school year, especially in the winter. How is your father?"

There was a long pause, and Ichiro blinked. It seemed to him that Mikael had tensed up considerably at the mention of his father. Ichiro could see the muscles in Mikael's jaw clench, only for a moment, before Mikael blinked and chuckled. "My father is just fine, Sarah, thank you for asking. He doesn't like to read as much as me, otherwise I'm sure he'd be down here quite often." Sarah didn't seem to notice the moment of tenseness as she still had a bright smile on her face.

Ichiro leaned in to whisper to Mikael while she processed the booked. "I thought you said you inherited your business," he said quietly.

Mikael whispered back, "As I said, it's been in our family a long time," as if that should explain everything.

Before Ichiro could ask more questions, Sarah turned back to smile at them both and asked, "Will there be anything else you require, mister Rowan?"

"Yes actually, mister Harrison here is going to check that book out himself now." He smiled at Ichiro, who smiled back to Sarah nervously.

She looked a bit puzzled for a moment but then smiled again warmly. "Does he have a library card?"

"Uh… no, I don't."

Now it seemed Mikael and Sarah were smiling in unison, so happily it almost scared Ichiro. "Well, let's get you set up, then!" Sarah said in joyful tones.

\---

"I still don't get what was so important about getting me a library card. Couldn't you have just _given_ me the book? I would have returned it!" Ichiro whined quietly as they walked down the steps from the library, now holding _Embracing Defeat_ under his own arm.

Mikael smiled at him--and even now, in the dark of the evening, he wore his sunglasses. Ichiro marveled at him, thinking he looked as silly as he looked _cool_. "You have to be responsible for your own actions, Ichiro."

"If you say so… hey, you never finished explaining how your father--"

Mikael stopped. Ichiro stopped as well, and grew quiet, but this time Mikael's attention was fixed on something else. A group of people standing at the base of the stairs, wearing bright-grey hoodies. Some of them were smoking cigarettes.

"Please smoke somewhere else, gentleman. The city does not permit cigarette use within fifty feet of building entrances." Mikael's voice commanded the attention of the group--five men, Ichiro now realized--but he clearly wasn't commanding their _respect_.

"Oooooh, and who's going to stop us? You, blondie?" jeered one of the men. Ichiro thought they were perhaps his own age, maybe a little older, but he had trouble seeing their faces with the hoodies on. "Or is your boyfriend here gonna tell me what to do, too?"

Ichiro rolled his eyes and put a hand on Mikael's shoulder. "Hey man, don't sweat it so much. There's five of these guys…"

Ichiro trailed off as he saw the strangest, predatory gleam in Mikael's eyes, as the pale man grinned and said, "I know, it hardly seems fair to them" in a quiet voice, before more loudly addressing them once again. "You five shall disperse or I will turn you out myself."

This brought cooing laughter and snorts of derision from the men. "Oh are ye, faggot? You an' your fairy lovar here are gonn'to show us a good time?" asked another voice--and this one seemed to stand up straighter, making him seem much taller than the rest. Mikael was advancing on the group, and had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, but even as they laughed it was clear they were giving him room. It seemed at odds with their attitude--Ichiro had expected them to get in Mikael's face.

"This is your final warning. If you think I'm afraid of violence, you were poorly informed," Mikael announced.

This stopped the laughing immediately. "Poorly informed were we? I don' know what ye think we are, ye pasty goth faggot, but we's jes five gentleman enjoyin' th' night air." Ichiro now realized the tallest man had a faint Irish accent.

Mikael chuckled, darkly. "I said that was your final warning, very well--" and he took a step forward, then stopped. Ichiro had run in front of Mikael, in a defensive manner that startled the pale man.

"Back off! He just met me--" Ichiro tried to say, but there was a blur of movement from the tall man's arm…

To Mikael, it seemed to happen so very slowly. He saw the weapon as it was drawn; the arc of the man's arm seemed practically lazy from his perspective. He could have caught the knife between his fingers--could have caught it in his teeth. He could have run forward and knocked the tall man's teeth out before the knife left his hand. But Ichiro… Ichiro was trying to defend _him._ Ichiro, of all people. A stranger, acting without thinking, only listening to his heart…

His heart. Meer inches from where the cross-hilt silver knife had embedded itself in Ichiro's chest. The five gentleman hollered and laughed as they ran into the night. Ichiro could not even understand what he was looking at as his gaze fell downward, looking at the small pool of blood forming on the pavement beneath him, the weapon still lodged in his body. He didn't even feel pain. He felt… sleepy…

" _Ichiro_!" Mikael screamed. Ichiro began to crumple to the ground but Mikael stepped forward and caught him. Ichiro could not keep his eyes open but coughed, blood splattering from his mouth. Mikael gently shook him. "Ichiro, don't sleep… stay with me…!" He kept trying to jostle his new friend to stay awake, just a few moments longer--

"Dyin' on th' steps o' a church," came the Irish-accented voice. Mikael realized suddenly that the hooded man who threw the knife had not yet left the scene of his crime. Mikael grit his teeth, baring his fangs--and then his eyes grew large at a sudden realization that left his body colder than the coldest ice. The hooded man chuckled darkly. "Poetic, isn't it?"

\---

Abandoning all pretenses, Mikael gathered up the nearly-unconscious body of Ichiro and leapt high into the sky. With a single leap he had cleared a city block, landing on the roof of a nearby building, and within moments he was back at the _Flying Fox_. He used a roof-access stairwell to rush down into the building, through the nearly empty kitchen and into the lounge in the back. A few employees were sitting around drinking coffee with Cami as Mikael burst in on them, bloody and nearly in tears.

"I was attacked. At the library. Ichiro--" he could only gasp. The three looked at him in shock. Cami, small as she was, quickly took Ichiro's body from Mikael and carefully laid him upon a couch. She looked at the knife with a hard gaze, then at Mikael. She said nothing to him, but then turned to the employees.

"Get all the towels you can carry, and a first aid kit--" she started to say, which sent both employees--a tall, burly gentleman and a young man with mussed, medium length hair--scrambling. Mikael cut all three of them off.

" _There isn't time_! He'll bleed out even as we stitch this shut… there's too much internal hemorrhaging!" He squeezed his fists as he shouted, but he wasn't looking at anyone. His sight was turned inward, full of guilt and fury, searching for an answer.

Cami stood and turned, looking at him with piercing eyes. "Mikael, we _promised_. We will never turn another man or woman. And _certainly not without their consent_!"

"I KNOW damn you!" Mikael shouted. "But he will _die_ without magic. No one here shares his blood type and we don't have time for anything else."

Cami sighed and shook her head. "I must concede that you are correct in that conclusion," she said, "so… the question becomes, what magic do we call upon?"

Mikael set his jaw, and turned to look at Ichiro, who was still fading, each breath growing more ragged than the last. He coughed a little, and more blood spilled on his clothing. Mikael seemed to draw a large breath of his own, and then he drew a design--a complicated diagram of circles intersecting triangles and other shapes--in thin air. The diagram glowed in the dim light of the lounge, and the two employees wisely left as the light started to dim even more, bringing the room further and further into darkness.

Cami looked closely, and finally recognized the diagram. "You… You're still putting him in grave danger, calling upon… that. It will be quite sour after the way we've treated it."

Mikael practically whispered, "A sour friend is still a friend," and as he finished the diagram, it seemed to glow brighter. Then it began to pulse, and light started to return to the room… except around Ichiro, who seemed to grow even _darker_. Mikael knelt next to his new friend and spoke into his ear. "Ichiro! Listen to me! You must resist its power! You must convince it you are the master! See through the illusions, and do not let it trick you! _Take that power for yourself_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The library described in the story is fictional--but based heavily on the [Suzzallo Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzzallo_Library), a real library at the University of Washington, where I attended school. That library was not built as a church like the one in Fruit Bats, but it does _feel_ like a church, as some photos will plainly show. I would do a lot of reading (and play a lot of my Gameboy Advance) in that library; anyone visiting the UW campus should check it out. Keep quiet!
> 
> Sarah, on the other hand, is modeled after Sayuri from Seraph. Another minor character, but Sayuri's unstoppable cheerfulness made her the perfect librarian, in my mind. Finally, the mysterious assailants at the end of the chapter are not from the real world, nor Seraph, but patterned after characters from a _different_ vampire manga. I won't say more, but the Irish accent should be a big clue.


	4. Candid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is something wrong with Ichiro, but he cannot understand what it is... and then he meets someone _very_ strange indeed...

Ichiro looked up and beheld a tall tree in a night sky lit only by a full moon. The tree was barren of leaves, which was not so surprising for January… but when Ichiro thought to look around to see where he was, he could only tell he was on a sort of hill. Beyond the hill, however, the ground seemed to curve down forever. There was only Ichiro and this tree in whatever place he was in.

"You aren't alone here."

The voice was… oddly feminine. Or perhaps child-like. Ichiro could not tell--nor could he tell the direction from which the voice came. It seemed to come from all around him at once, but not loud like thunder. It was if it was whispered in his ear, but he turned and saw no one.

"Up here."

Ichiro looked up. The tree, from his perspective, seemed to lean to the left instead of standing up straight. It had many branches and boughs leading up from the trunk, but they all went… slightly left. Ichiro blinked--one of the branches was moving.

"Here I am." The moving branch--which seemed to hang downward from another bough--shook itself. And then Ichiro realized what he was looking at was not a branch, but in fact a large bat. It spread its wings as if to emphasize this fact, but because the moon seemed to float behind it off in the distance, he could not make out any features of the bat's face or form.

"Who are you?" Ichiro asked.

"That is a good question," the bat replied. "A very good question, and I'm glad that is the first question you asked. Because I look like a bat, don't I? But instead of saying something silly like 'you are a bat' you asked who I was. Because--"

"--Bats don't talk," Ichiro finished. He felt as though he must be imagining this, for the bat seemed to know what he was thinking. And how could it, unless this was all in his head?

"You are correct," the bat said. Before Ichiro could say anything more, the bat continued. "Bats don't talk, and this _is_ in your head. I can read your mind."

Ichiro swallowed. He felt a little light headed. "Something is wrong with me," he tried to explain, but the bat seemed uninterested.

"Don't worry about that. I want to be candid with you," the bat explained. "So let's get right into it. Bats cannot talk, and yet I am a bat. How can that be?"

"I don't know," Ichiro said. It was hard to concentrate. He was missing something, something important…

"Ichiro, do you believe in demons?" asked the bat.

The question snapped Ichiro to attention. " _Demons_? What… I don't think so. I mean…"

"Your father is a man of Christian religion, so I know you have an idea of what a demon is. Have you ever noticed, that demons and devils in all those paintings and books and on the internet, when drawn in the Christian style--if they have wings, they tend to be…" the bat trailed off.

"…bat wings," Ichiro finished, nodding.

"Right you are. Demons, devils… dragons. All so very often drawn… with the wings of a bat." The bat sighed. "I don't know who that is less fair to, the demons or the bats."

Ichiro paused, and the bat did not speak, so Ichiro finally broke the silence. "Are you a demon?" he asked.

The bat seemed to ignore him. "But Christian demons are not the only demons, are they? Your mother is Japanese. And in the books she brought with her from Japan, you have seen pictures of demons whose names make no sense to you. Kiyohime. Wanyudo. Tengu."

"My uh… Japanese isn't very good," Ichiro admitted.

"That's fine. I can see you're learning. My point is this… there are more demons and devils than even Christianity has names for. So it is fair to say…" the bat said, pausing for dramatic emphasis, "… there are things neither Christians, nor Japanese, nor anyone else may be aware of?"

"I-I guess." Ichiro felt faint again. He stumbled, trying to stay upright.

The bat kept going. "Do you believe in ghosts, Ichiro?"

Ichiro almost said no, but then he remembered, playing near his house at night one summer, and hearing strange sounds coming from an abandoned house at the end of the street. "I… think… maybe I do."

"That is good. Ghosts are… echoes. Not people, but what is left of people when they pass away." The bat shifted on its perch, tilting its head in a curious look. Ichiro struggled to find the strength to keep standing as it kept talking. "Do you think people are the only things that could leave behind ghosts, Ichiro?"

He blinked. "Well, yeah! It's not like… there are ghost cars or ghost toasters or…"

"Ghost animals?" the bat asked, before Ichiro could continue.

"Er… I-I mean--are you a ghost?" he asked carefully.

The bat ignored his question. "What would make a human so special that only humans can leave behind ghosts? What about gorillas? Orangutans? Chimpanzees? They're fairly close to humans, in intelligence and biology."

Ichiro tried to speak, but couldn't find the words. The bat continued. "And if those animals could have ghosts, what about dolphins? Dolphins are very smart. Is a powerful brain all one needs? I would argue… it is not." The bat shifted in its perch. "And if any dead animal of sufficient intelligence were able to leave behind a ghost… what of all the many, many animals that came before man? What of the megatherium--giant sloths--or even mastadons? Elephants are quite intelligent you know."

"I…don't…" Ichiro tried to say, but he felt scared now. As though just beyond his view, just below the tiny hill that was his whole universe at that moment, there were things moving…

The bat continued. "What of the dinosaurs? Who ruled the earth in their own way for a length of time that makes the whole of human civilization seem like a blink of the eye? Couldn't they have ghosts?"

To Ichiro, it seemed as if something was now walking out from behind the tree. A shadow, impossibly large--a silhouette of something primordial. Terrifying. Ichiro stood stock-still now, unwilling to move.

"Well? What do--TCH!" The bat leapt down at the shadow, and in that moment it seemed to grow gargantuan, as large as the shadow upon which it leapt. There was a roar and a screech and the huge shadow fell beneath the might of the bat-thing, black blood dripping from its maw. It advanced toward Ichiro, using its wings as long forelimbs, the body of its prey dissolving into dark smoke behind it.

Ichiro's voice choked in this throat. "W-what… was that? What _are_ you?" he asked, terror in the tone of his voice.

"I am what I am. A memory, a monster beyond human reckoning. I know what Mihnea wants of me. I ask you, am I made more fearsome by the dragons I have _eaten_ , or by the dragons that now _bear my wings_ in your myths and legends!?" Ichiro wondered at the name Mihnea for only a moment. He could tell this thing-that-was-a-bat was growing irate, vicious. He wondered what would happen to him if the creature attacked him. Then he remembered, vaguely, what Mikael told him.

"You need me to agree with you," he said flatly, as if unsure of himself.

The creature paused in its advance. "What could I possibly need you to agree to? Do you see what I did to that dinosaur? King of Tyrants _indeed_." It spit more of the black ichor dripping from its maw to the ground and took another step, its wings coming close to striking distance.

Then something occurred to Ichiro. "…How would you know what a dinosaur was?"

The eyes of the bat-thing glistened as they seemed to turn away thinking. "I am reading your thoughts--I've read many minds. I've _consumed_ many minds," it said with a sneer, its features becoming clearer to Ichiro the closer it approached.

"But… you've never consumed a dinosaur," Ichiro pointed out. "That would be impossible. There weren't any bats…"

"Weren't there?" screeched the bat-thing again. "Did my kind not flit among the skies of the era you call Cretaceous? I have dined on so many different kinds of blood."

Ichiro felt himself pale. He didn't know enough about bats to call the creature's bluff. And yet… "Wait… did you say _flit_?"

That stopped the bat dead in its tracks. "It's a term, it means _fly_ , you imbecile!" it snapped.

"But if you were a… if you were as big as you appear now, wouldn't the right word be _soar_?"

The bat-creature bristled, but even as it did so, it seemed to Ichiro that it shrank slightly. "I could soar! I have soared! I didn't feel like using that word, that's all!"

Ichiro took a deep breath. The slightly chilled air of this dreamscape entered his nostrils, and he felt more awake, more aware. Still, he felt he was now grasping at something he should have seen earlier. And then a sudden thought occurred to him. "Flying foxes are the largest bats that ever lived, but they're all _vegetarian_. The vampire bites are _tiny_ compared to fruit bats."

The bat was steadily shrinking now even as it thrashed and wailed. "I'm not tiny! _I am the night_! I live within the shadow of man, suckling on the blood of any creature I choose!"

Ichiro grinned. So small had the thing become that he simply reached down and picked it up, holding it by the scruff of its neck as it nipped at his nose. "You're not fooling anyone any more."

The tiny creature's voice had also grown quite small, but still it shrieked. "Put me down! I'll suck you dry! I'll drain every drop of your essence!"

"Oh I'll let you have my essence," Ichiro said with a grin. "But only as much as I ever _want_ you to. Other wise I'll just die right here--I'd rather be dead than let you take over my mind." Ichiro realized grimly that he was telling the truth--so much the better. If the bat could read his mind, he wanted the creature to know he was serious.

The bat grumbled. "Fine. Fine! We have an accord. But this isn't over! I'm going to--"

"Be quiet." And Ichiro clapped his hands with the bat between them--but nothing squished or broke. It simply turned into a faint mist the seemed to glow brighter, and brighter, until…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream sequences are a difficult thing for me to write. My own dreams never seem as ordered and logical as the dreams I write about, but I try to incorporate elements of surrealism to them whenever I can--the problem of course, is that if one becomes _too_ surreal, too quickly, it is obvious the situation is a dream. Then again, anyone coming from the last chapter will probably know this chapter is a dream, anyway.
> 
> Anyone guessing that this strange bat-creature is an expy of Asuramaru, Yuu's sword from Seraph of the End, is correct. Like the other characters, I'm taking a lot of liberties with the characterization of this bat-creature; for example, unlike Asuramaru, the bat doesn't have a name. Yet. Also, it's some sort of ghost of a bat, not a sword. Still, there are a lot of similarities in their behavior, and their relationship with their hosts. Stay tuned for me!


	5. Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro has overcome a strange confrontation, and returns to the waking world. But what has happened to him?

Mikael sat and watched Ichiro. His breathing had slowed, nearly stopping, but the young man yet lived. _Should an innocent be so punished for my crimes?_ he mused. _How many innocents did_ I _punish…_

Cami approached him. "You're showing unusual concern for someone you just met," she said hesitantly.

"He tried to protect me, Cami." Mikael let out a long breath. "Sight unseen, no knowledge of who I am... besides an eccentric old man with a fondness for books…"

"An eccentric _young_ man, from his perspective," Cami said with a smirk. "Remember, he doesn't know a thing about you, Mika-kun."

Mikael groaned. "Could you please refrain from adding linguistic color to our conversations while _a man's life hangs in the balance?_ "

"Oh but he's doing fine. You just haven't noticed the wound healing since I've been distracting you." Cami smiled, and Mikael blinked, spinning around to inspect Ichiro closely. Indeed, Mikael could see that the wounds had healed completely, and Ichiro's breathing was no longer ragged, though he was still sleeping.

Mikael felt a strange sensation in his eyes. One he had not felt in some time--but he determined he would not shed tears in front of Cami. Instead he simply took Ichiro's hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank goodness," he quietly said.

\---

It was another hour before Ichiro began to rouse himself, and by then he had quite an audience around him. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Mikael smiling at him, no longer wearing his sunglasses. Ichiro smiled and asked, "You're all right?"

Mikael blinked, and smiled. "Am _I_ alright?" The pale man shook his head but kept grinning at Ichiro.

Before Ichiro could ask what Mikael was talking about, he heard someone behind him laugh, deep and hearty--a voice that Ichiro didn't recognize. "No thought of yourself then buddy? Good man. You've got stones."

Ichiro sat up a bit and turned his head to look at the source of the voice. It belonged to a stout man, slightly taller than Ichiro, leaning against the wall near the door. He had a thick torso and thick arms, and a scraggly beard and mustache that seemed to be the result of lack of shaving, rather than deliberate styling. He hair was very short, nearly military-styled.

He was wearing a uniform, as was the much slighter gentleman next to him, who's eyes were filled with worry. While both men had brownish-blonde hair, the shorter of the two wore it at medium length unlike the rough buzz cut of the burly fellow. He frowned at his companion. "Tom, I don't think it's fair to tease him…! He's had quite a night…" said the slight man, trailing off and sounding a bit nervous.

His companion sounded aghast. "I was giving him a compliment Chad! Anyway maybe we should clear out, give these two some time alone," the big man said with a wink and a nudge.

"No, please stay here, you two. And Cami as well. We're going to have a lot of explaining to do."

Ichiro sat up, pulling off the blanket and towel that had been heaped upon him. He felt slow to wake, but as he propped himself upright, the reality of his situation started to flood his mind. He reached down to feel his chest, and found the hole in his shirt… but his skin was untouched, it seemed. The was no wound.

"I remember… the men, at the foot of the library… one of them… threw a knife at me?" he asked, scarcely believing his own words.

"A blessed knife, aimed at me, actually." Mikael sighed and shook his head, sitting down on the couch next to Ichiro. "What you did was unnecessary, really, but thank you. I'm only glad we could save your life."

Ichiro blinked. He realized he had a lot of questions. "Unnecessary? Why--and what… what was that dream about… how do I not have a big hole in my chest?"

Before Mikael could respond, Cami chimed in. "The answer to all of your questions is: _because we're vampires_!" She said this with such cheer and enthusiasm that both Ichiro and Mikael looked at her as if she were ruining the atmosphere, or was perhaps a bit crazed.

Tom and Chad smiled nervously, and Tom added, "Not us. Just these two." He motioned to Mikael and Cami.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ichiro said flatly. "I knew she was a Japanophile but I didn't think she was a.. _Goth_ , too."

Cami grunted in dismay. "I'm a _cosplayer_ , thank you very much! The only one who comes close to being a Goth in here is Mikael." Ichiro blinked at her, and after a pause, she added, "Serena went home for the night." Ichiro kept looking at her as if she were crazy, so she continued. "I can see you don't know what we're talking about, so perhaps I should just show you!"

This brought an audible gasp from Chad, who started shuffling sideways toward the door. After a moment, Tom blinked and whispered (quite loudly), "Don't leave me here! She's going to do that… thing!"

Ichiro blinked at both of the young men, then looked at Cami. She suddenly seemed much… taller. The skin on her face seemed somehow drawn, and gaunt. She had a wicked smile, and she opened her mouth to reveal long, sharp fangs. She hissed, and suddenly Ichiro could feel his heart beating, a pounding sound in his ears.

"Cami…" Mikael said in warning tone.

"Vat? He doesn't belief me! I vill show him ze darkness in mine--" she tried to say, in a terribly clichéd Eastern-European accent, before Mikael lifted his hand into the air. Ichiro blinked--there was some sort of glowing design on the palm of his hand--and then Cami seemed to disappear in a misty puff.

No, disappear wasn't the right term. The was something left in the cloud of fog where Cami had been standing only moments before. It was _flitting_ about in the air, staying aloft with a series of furious wing-beats. A bat. And not a very big bat either. Ichiro blinked and squinted--the bat was darting about very rapidly, but it seemed to Ichiro that it had purple fur on its head. And then he heard her, her voice barely a squeak.

"Mika-kun! How _dare_ you! You promised you wouldn't use that spell unless it was an _emergency_!" She flew over to Mikael's head and grabbed hold of his hair with her tiny clawed feet, hanging upside down to stare menacingly at him. Well, as menacingly as a regular-sized bat could manage. "That hardly qualified as an emergency!!!"

Mikael carefully dislodged the little bat from his hair and let Cami hang from his index finger. "After what he's been through tonight, I don't think scaring him further is a very good idea. Don't you agree, Ichiro--"

"Bwahahahaha!" Ichiro started cackling madly. "That's Cami? _And I thought she was short to begin with_!" He continued to point and laugh, and Cami managed a scowl with her bat features.

" _Baka_! I'll show you!" She flew over and landed on top of Ichiro's head, and began slapping him repeatedly in the face with her wings, while he protested--amidst continued laughter--at her frenzied assault.

"Ow--hahaha--quit it, you'll--" Ichiro stopped laughing. Mika was watching with a bemused smirk and eyes full of knowing. Ichiro's smile faded and he stood up abruptly, which caused Cami to fall off his head, nearly bringing her to the floor before she managed to glide back up, flapping in a hover. Ichiro began to stammer. "D-did you make me into a vampire too!? Is that why m-my chest is healed--w-what did you--"

"There we are. I was wondering how long you'd sit there before it occurred to you. Tom, could you make us a couple of smoothies?" He addressed the tall man, who nodded.

"I assume you'll want yours to be _medicinal_ , sir? Same for the new guy?" Tom asked carefully, eying Ichiro curiously.

"No actually, just a regular strawberry-banana for him." Tom walked off before Ichiro could ask any questions. Mikael turned to him. "You aren't a vampire--not as you think of them, at least, and certainly not as we are."

Ichiro stared at Mikael for a long moment before sitting down again. "I'm _not_ a vampire," he said, still unsure of himself.

"No."

"But _you're_ a vampire."

"Yes."

"And… Cami is…"

"A bit pissed I forced her into her bat form, I think." They both turned to look at Cami, who had risen up a bit higher, toward the ceiling, looking as though she was preparing to do something.

" _Kisama_!" she exclaimed. Before Ichiro could ask what that meant, she tucked her wings in and seemed to dive straight at Mikael. Ichiro ducked under her attack, but Mikael only caught her with both of his hands and stared her down. She wriggled and writhed in his grip, until he finally let go of her, and snapped his fingers. She seemed to expand to full size in nearly an instant, accompanied again by the same misty fog as before. She smoothed down her mock school-uniform and folded her arms, glaring at Mikael. "That was completely uncalled for, and _rude_." She sat down in a chair across from the sofa where the two men sat. "I will have my revenge."

"Of course, of course, Camilla," Mikael said with a sigh. "Now--ah here's Tom with our drinks. Thank you Tom."

The big man came into the room and handed Mikael and Ichiro their smoothies. "Here you are sir. Anything else? Chad needs some help counting inventory."

"No thank you Tom, and thank you for staying late to help with this business. You're heading home in the next hour?" Mikael asked.

"Yes sir." He gave Ichiro an odd look, then glanced back to Mikael. "It's nearly 10 PM sir," he added in a strange tone.

Mikael frowned. "...And a school night. A point well made, thank you Tom, I might have forgotten." Tom nodded and gave a sort of bow before leaving the room. Cami watched the two of them as a predator might watch her prey, but then she also stood up abruptly.

"Have him come back tomorrow afternoon. And remind him about the nightmares," she said with a vicious twinkle in her eye.

Mikael winced. "Oh… yes. Thank you Cami, very thoughtful of you. Ichiro, you should probably be on your way home. I don't want your parents to worry."

Ichiro, who had been listening with a bewildered look on his face for some time now, pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm… not a vampire, but you did something to me. That bat… in my dream…"

"It won't harm you. But it will be quite rough with your head tonight. I'm sure it'll be like having a rude roommate move in with you, and you'll feel quite run-over in the morning, but have yourself something healthy for breakfast and you'll be just fine." Mikael smiled, very matter-of-factly. "Now then, off you go!"

Ichiro could only blink. "Huh?" he asked. "But… I have so many questions!"

"Questions we will answer for you tomorrow. In fact, should you be really worried, I won't think ill of you if you skip class and come straight here."

Ichiro grunted, grit his teeth and pulled on his hair. "Are you kidding? You can't have all this happen and then not explain any of it!"

"Sure we can," Cami said with a wry grin. "It's all part of the Curse."

Ichiro eyed her suspiciously. "What Curse?" he asked.

"The Curse of Duwacula."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend of my father's, my "uncle" Kurt, would often talk about "Duwaclia" when I was young. It made me laugh, and still does, but the oddity of the name will be explained soon enough.
> 
> As far as new characters are concerned, Chad and Tom will be supporting characters in the story moving forward. Tom isn't based off anyone in particular--not from Seraph at least--but Chad _is_ in a way. I'll explain more with a note in a future chapter. Finally, if it wasn't already clear... Cami is a vampire! A very large departure from Shinoa in Seraph; but I feel Shinoa would have made a pretty good vampire if things had gone differently in the Seraph universe.
> 
> And finally... You didn't think I'd write a story called "Fruit Bats" without putting bat transformations in, did you? My friend and I who came up with the concept could not stop cooing and giggling at how cute all the characters would be as bats. Expect plenty more in the future.


	6. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At lot has happened to Ichiro. Now, he tries to figure out what he has to do next.

"D… Duwacula?" Ichiro paused. "Don't you mean Dra--"

Before he could finish the word, Cami made a motion with her hand, and Ichiro's voice seemed to fail. He couldn't make a sound. He tried yelling for a moment, then glared at Cami. She smiled.

"It's a temporary anti-speaking Curse, it will only last about ten seconds. So let me tell you why I did it. Yes, I meant _him_. But vampires have a problem with that name--saying that name is _bad luck_. You know, like Voldemort?"

Ichiro blinked. He nodded, mutely--given that he had nothing to say at the moment--and took a long sip of his smoothie. It tasted good… _really_ good. Cami continued.

"It may seem silly to you, but when we make fun of his name, call him Duwacula or whatever… that gives us a little power over him. And believe me, against _that guy_ , we need all the little tricks we can get." She smirked at him. "It's probably worn off. Do you have any questions?"

Ichiro had been drinking his smoothie, but then he coughed, and hesitantly tried to speak. "Wha… er… so he's real? Not just like… from a movie?"

Cami sighed and put her hands on her hips. " _Mou_! I just told you it's bad form to say his name but now you want to have a _conversation_ about him? You really need to get to bed…" There was a glint in Cami's eyes.

"I…" Ichiro tried to say, but he suddenly felt very tired. "I need… to get to bed…"

Without saying another word, Ichiro set his smoothie on a table, turned and walked to the front of the _Flying Fox_ , out the front door and into in his car.

\---

Despite his sudden fatigue, Ichiro had no trouble driving. When he finally made it home, his parents were worried, as parents are wont to be. But when he exhaustedly explained he'd been spending an evening at the library, studying diligently (he even showed his copy of _Embracing Defeat_ to them), they relented and allowed him to go to bed. So tired was Ichiro that he didn't bother taking off his clothes first. He flopped down on his bed, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep.

This time, he wasn't on a hill, but in the middle of a thick forest. The moon was full above him, and he felt a little chilly.

"Of course its cold, your clothes got cut up." He recognized the voice. It was the oddly youthful tone of the bat creature.

Ichiro felt the hole in his shirt where the knife struck, and looked around carefully. "Um… is that you--what do I even call you?" He paused. "You're not… that _guy_ , that Cami mentioned, are you?"

The voice-with-no-body spoke again. "Even I'm not dumb enough to say _that_ name… I don't really have a name. I mean there are things people call me, but when I was _me_ , I was the only one. So I didn't need a name. I didn't even have language then."

"The only… what?" Ichiro asked.

"The only thing like me. I was alone in a world full of strange things. I was a strange thing. I started to understand the world more than the things I thought I was the same as. I had to carefully use my mind to sort out all the information I became aware of." The voice kept talking, giving Ichiro no time to ask questions. "And then I went to sleep for a long time. Then when I woke up again, it was because of _him_ … and your friends."

Ichiro swallowed. There was a long pause, so he finally spoke again. "Mikael said there would be nightmares… is that what this is?"

"Yeup!"

There was suddenly a roar--a strangely mechanical roar… and light. Bright light. Ichiro turned toward the light and sound, covering his eyes, trying to see what it was. The bright light of the moon shown down, and the bat-creature was revealed--a huge bat monster… riding on the back of a bus.

A bus heading straight for Ichiro.

He screamed and turned to run from the bus, but it was gaining on him. He ran past trees, turning to see the bus crash through them, knocking them down as it gained speed. Finally Ichiro tried to be clever, and began running sideways. He thought the bus would have trouble turning to hit him, but it almost did--he had to leap sideways to avoid getting hit, stumbling to the ground.

"W-what are you _doing_?" he asked his bat-companion.

"Me? Nothing. This thing is trying to run you over though." It seemed to shrug, as if its wings were arms.

"Why are you on top of a _bus_?" Ichiro demanded to know, trying to stand up--only to realize the ground had become a gooey mix of tar and asphalt. His hands and feet were stuck in the ground.

"But… it's not a bus," the bat-thing said, and Ichiro blinked, looking back up. "It's a STEAM ROLLER!"

And it was. A big, yellow, steam roller. It was rolling toward Ichiro. He flailed, trying to get his hands and feet free, but the steam roller kept coming… closer and closer… it was going to crush him! He screamed, and then…

He woke up.

It wasn't as dark as it had been the previous morning. Ichiro's room was faintly lit by the hall light, and he rubbed his eyes. He was still in his clothes, and the clock said it was 6:30 AM. He slowly got out of bed and stripped out of the clothes he had been wearing, wincing at the blood stains on his shirt. At least his parents hadn't seen that. He knew he'd have to throw it away or they'd be suspicious… but he dared not toss it in the trash in his own house.

He took a fresh shirt and a pair of cargo pants, and fresh boxers, into his bathroom to shower. Stripping down, he looked at himself in the mirror. There was no scar. The skin where the knife had stabbed him was unblemished. He looked elsewhere at his body and… was he more muscular, than the day before? He thought he looked good… really good. It was an odd thought and he winced, muttering to himself about his own vanity, and got in the shower.

"Do you think you're awake now?" asked the bat voice.

Ichiro shrieked and looked around wildly, expected to fall down the drain of the shower or have a tidal wave erupt from the water, or something else. There was childish laughter.

"Oh you are going to be a _treat_!" More laughter. Ichiro felt very much awake now, given how hard his heart was beating. "You _are_ awake, but I'm going to be here for a while, so get used to it."

Ichiro opened his mouth to speak, then paused when he heard his mother downstairs. "Ichi-kun, honey, are you singing in the shower?" His mother's accented voice was a surprising comfort, but Ichiro shouted while scrubbing soap over himself.

"No mom, I… thought I saw a spider. My mistake!" He let out a sigh then closed his eyes and tried mentally communicating with his bat-companion. "I don't need to talk to you out loud, do I?" he said without speaking.

There was a long pause. " _Do I_?" Ichiro shouted mentally.

"Ack! Wow, you think loudly. Yes, this works. Don't worry I won't try to distract you too much, I need your senses to perceive the world. The more you think at me, the less I get to know about the outside world." The bat-thing sighed.

"I still need to call you something," Ichiro mused to himself. "You… you said bats gave demons their wings. Maybe I'll call you Demon Bat or something."

"I said _humans_ gave _demons_ bat wings. That's different," explained the bat.

"Whatever. I just want to have something to call you, other than… thing or bat-monster or..." Ichiro paused his thought for a moment. "You said that there was nothing else like you?"

"Not at first, at least. Not that I was aware of," responded the bat-voice.

"Ok… Alpha. I'll call you Alpha." Ichiro waited. There was no response. "Is… that a problem?"

"You want to call me Alpha? Like… the first letter of the Greek Alphabet?" asked the voice. It didn't sound upset, but… curious.

"Well would you prefer I make you the Beta and I'll be--" Ichiro tried to say, before the bat cut him off.

"No no, Alpha… Alpha. That sort of makes sense. Actually… I like it." Ichiro got a distinct sense that the creature… Alpha… was now resting. As if it was roosting or something.

"Ok. Alpha… Alpha it is." Ichiro finished his shower and got dressed.

\---

He _briefly_ considered actually going to class, but Ichiro felt that he would rather have some answers about what happened to him. Alpha was either asleep or unwilling to speak, because Ichiro had not heard it since he finished his shower. He drove in silence to _Flying Fox_. The building looked much nicer in the partial sunlight than it had the day before, when it was wet and miserable in the winter weather.

Ichiro got out of his car and looked around. He looked up at the little bit of sun in the sky. Mikael had been walking around in broad daylight yesterday… or had he? It _had_ been dark, and raining. Well, if Mikael was a vampire, that would explain the sunglasses… right?

Ichiro took a deep breath and walked inside. The place was empty. It occurred to Ichiro that the restaurant might not even be open yet, but there was someone came out of a door near the back of the restaurant that he recognized. The young man smiled at him.

"Oh hello again! Um--Ichiro, right? Like the baseball player?" Ichiro wanted to get angry, but the gentleman just seemed nice, so he let it slide.

"Er, yeah. No relation to him though. You're…" he started to say, but then he realized he couldn't remember the man's name.

"Chadwick Harker," said the man. Ichiro realized for the first time that he had a bit of an English accent. "Pleased to meet you formally, sir!" He extended his hand and Ichiro, a little surprised, shook it carefully. He wasn't sure exactly how strong he had become.

"Chadwick… um… Chad? Is Chad alright?" Ichiro asked carefully.

"Of course sir! Most everyone here calls me Chad anyway." Chad set a binder on the counter and opened it, looking over the contents while he spoke. "Master Mikael hasn't come in just yet, but if you'd like to take a seat you may wait for him as long as you like." Chad gestured to the booths of the restaurant, and Ichiro nodded and sat down at the same booth he had used yesterday. Chad came over after a moment and put a menu in front of Ichiro.

"You um… you know Mikael is…" Ichiro tried to say, but even in the empty building he felt like it a taboo subject. What if it wasn't empty? Ichiro tried to put his thoughts into words but Chad cut him off.

"Oh you mean a vampire? Yes, we all know about him, and Cami, and Misty and Devon--" Chad started to say, before Ichiro waved at him to stop.

"Whoa whoa…! I don't know half those people! And… they're _all_ vampires?" Ichiro asked hesitantly.

Chad smiled and nodded. "Yes, and all very nice! Well Mistress Misty can be a touch aggressive at times…"

Ichiro said nothing, and Chad looked thoughtful for a long while, but finally Ichiro looked at him and asked, "What is it you do around here? Are you a server like um… Serena?"

Chad blushed uncomfortably at the comparison. "Uh, no, I'm not… like Serena. Actually I'm the manager."

Ichiro stared at him for a long moment before he yelled, " _You're the manager_!?"

Chad winced. "Yes, um… I know, I seem a touch young to be running a business…"

"Well yeah!" Ichiro's mouth hung open. "How old _are_ you?"

"Um… w-well, I'm 18…" Chad rubbed his neck nervously while blushing. Ichiro couldn't believe it. He felt as if he was older than Chad, but the two of them were the same age.

"Despite his youth, he's the glue that holds our little family together," came a voice from the front of the store. It was Mikael, wearing the same white long-coat he had on yesterday, and the same round-rimmed sunglasses, which he adjusted in the lower light of the restaurant. "So, you decided to forgo your formal education today? I suppose I can't blame you."

Ichiro nearly got up but Mikael crossed the floor quickly and sat down across from him. "Y-yeah," Ichiro stammered, "I um… really wanted to see you again. T-to ask about… all this, and about Alpha…"

Mikael blinked. "Alpha?"

"Yes, you traitor, he's given me a new name. After you _destroyed_ my last name." Alpha's voice was audible to Ichiro but apparently Mikael as well, who look a touch startled for a moment, before smiling a little.

"Alpha. Interesting. We didn't destroy your name, 'Alpha,' we only _sealed_ it. For your protection." He took off his sunglasses and looked at Ichiro right in the eye, but it felt to Ichiro that Mikael was looking through him more than anything.

Chad, on the other hand, blinked in puzzlement. "Ah… one of _those_ things… pardon me master, I'll tend to the business." Mikael nodded to Chad, still smiling, who went back to work with his binder while Mikael, Ichiro and Alpha kept talking.

"However we can discuss that sealing business later." Mikael seemed to refocus his eyes. "Now, Ichiro… I imagine you have some questions?"


	7. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzled by the changes to his body, Ichiro skips school and shows up at the _Flying Fox_ café and smoothie bar, with a load of questions for Mikael, his savior.

"Well for starters… what in the world did you _do_ to me?" Ichiro asked. He almost immediately regretted the excited tone of his voice--he worried that he might have seemed angrier than he was, but Mikael's smile was nothing if not forgiving.

"An excellent question!" Mikael remarked. "First though--oh, how did you like the smoothie we made for you last night? I know that was probably a lot of sugar before bed, but given everything that happened to you I thought it prudent to have something healthy. You lost quite a bit of blood after all."

Ichiro blinked. "Well it was…" he started to answer, but then he realized he was being led off topic. "The _smoothie_? You want me to tell you how the SMOOTHIE was!?"

Mikael blinked. "Well… yes. I want to make sure the flavor didn't disagree with you." He turned in his seat, and waved for Chad's attention, holding up two fingers. Chad smiled and nodded, then went through a door in the back of the restaurant.

Ichiro flailed a bit in his seat. " _You put a bat monster in my brain_!" he exclaimed.

Mikael just stared at Ichiro for a long while before smiling kindly. "Actually it's in your entire body, if you want to be specific."

"Is that supposed to make it _better_!?" Ichiro asked, growing more irate every moment. Mikael held up a hand, and Ichiro slowly started to calm down. "Asking me about the smoothie, I mean, _seriously_ …" he muttered.

Mikael's smile faded, and he looked quite serious instead as he asked, "What did you have for breakfast, Ichiro?"

Ichiro blinked, caught off guard by the question, and the way it had been asked. "Um… w-well, nothing, actually. I came straight here instead of getting coffee."

Mikael sighed with relief. "Alpha wouldn't have told you this. He's clever and patient, and would have let you slip up by accident."

Ichiro blinked. "Alpha wouldn't have told me what--"

Alpha's voice echoed in the space between Ichrio and Mikael's mind. "That if you start drinking blood, I'll take over your body." There was a strange sigh, a very animalistic sound. "You don't trust me any more, do you Mikael?"

Mikael smiled, though there was an icy look in his eyes. "Can you blame me, after the last time?" he asked.

"I told you that wasn't _my_ fault," Alpha said plaintively. "But as long as your new friend behaves himself, I'll take _good_ care of him."

"I bet," Mikael said wryly. "If you do start running wild, I'll put Ichiro down and banish you again, and we'll see how long I wait before letting you out _then_."

There was a faint _Tch_ from Alpha, and then the bat went silent. Ichiro blinked before speaking, hesitantly. "What… was… you mean… w-why would I _drink blood_??"

"Oh, I don't believe you'd ever intentionally drink blood, Ichiro. That's not something humans do. But the truth is… as long as Alpha and you are sharing a body, you're… not quite human any more." Mikael laced his fingers together and looked over the rims of his glasses at Ichiro, very carefully, very intensely. It worried Ichiro… but in a way, it excited him as well. He could feel a profound strength in his muscles--he felt _changed_.

"So I'm… not totally human. But I'm not a vampire, either? Because it sounds like drinking blood would be _very bad_ for me," he stated carefully. "So then… what is Alpha?"

"Something like a ghost, you could say… the ghost of an animal so ancient it once shared the earth with dinosaurs. He may have intimated as much with you." Mikael adjusted his sunglasses as he spoke.

"Yeah um… that came up…" Ichiro said, pausing as a thought struck him. "But that would mean he was _millions_ of years old!" he announced, as the realization of the situation sunk in. "How is that possible?"

Mikael shrugged lightly. "To be honest, we aren't sure. We know that sometimes, people develop fantastic abilities. Supernatural abilities. But even the people with these powers, in their pride, may believe them to be of purely _human_ origin. Or even divine in nature."

"And… they aren't?" Ichiro asked.

Mikael shook his head. "Not in the least. As evidenced by Alpha, other animals may develop strange gifts of their own… and these powers may allow them to survive, in a way, far longer than their physical bodies."

Ichiro shivered. "So then… how is it he's in my body now?"

"I bound him to you, with magic." Mikael stated this so matter-of-factly that Ichiro was left blinking for a few seconds before he stood up in the booth, both hands on the table.

" _M-Magic_?" Ichiro asked. "Like, magic spells? Are you _kidding_!?"

Mikael gave Ichiro a blank look and sighed. "After everything that's happened to you, you would accept vampires and ghost bats… but not magic as well? Honestly, Ichiro…"

Ichiro sat down sullenly and folded his arms across his chest. "Well it just… sounds silly." He suddenly remembered the silencing curse Cami had used against him the night before. "But then, Cami's curse…"

"Oh? Cami cursed you? That was quite rude of her. We try not to do that unless we really have to." Mikael frowned slightly.

"Well I was about to talk about Dra… Duwacula." Ichiro flushed with embarrassment; he felt silly saying the name like that, but the look on Mikael's face made him realize it was probably the right thing to do.

"I see. So, she explained why we make fun of his name like that, I assume?" Mikael stared intently at Ichiro, who nodded mutely. "Good," Mikael continued. "Then I won't discuss it any more for now." Ichiro blinked. He _had_ expected more of an explanation from Mikael on the subject, but now he found Mikael would not even look him in the eye. He got the distinct impression that Mikael was nervous--far more nervous than he'd seen him at all in the past two days. But the moment was brief, as Chad finally arrived with their drinks.

Ichiro thought he would break the silence, speaking as Mikael took a sip of his smoothie. "You said Alpha is some sort of… being, like a ghost. What does that make me? Am I… um… haunted?"

"In a manner, that's not far from the truth. You could also say you were _possessed_ , but it's not exactly that cut-and-dry, Ichiro." With something to focus on, Mikael seemed more relaxed, but very intent. He kept talking while Ichiro sampled his own smoothie--it was very tasty, as if the fruit used was quite fresh indeed. "Throughout history, humans have invited forces into their bodies for power. Such magics carry inherent danger, of course--sometimes it becomes hard to see where one being ends and another begins--but with so little time last night, I felt I had no other choice. I'm sorry."

Now it was Ichiro's turn to feel like he could not look Mikael in the eye. He took another sip of his smoothie, and felt embarrassed. "You did what you had to. I guess it was silly for me to try and protect a… vampire…"

Mikael shook his head, and Ichiro looked up. There was a gentleness in Mikael's eyes he had not seen before. "You were very brave, Ichiro. Bravery such as yours should not be punished with pain and death. I believe that with all of my being. _That_ is why I sought to save you."

Ichiro stared into Mikael's eyes, and could not help but feel there were things Mikael wasn't telling him. He carefully worded his next question. "Who were those men, outside the library? Why would they want to hurt you?"

"I… truthfully I don't know. I have suspicions, but they might simply be would-be vampire hunters." Mikael leaned back in his seat, and took another sip of his own smoothie. He seemed to relax again, and even smiled. "Vampires, if they live any length of time at all, get used to attacks against their person. Our persecution is not without foundation, after all."

Ichiro gulped. "Because you… you drink people's blood?" he asked carefully.

Mikael blinked and then laughed at Ichiro. "Well not any more! Not my friends and I, at least. I mean, obviously." He shook the smoothie cup and smiled. "We have not partaken of _vitae sangiunem_ for some time… Or is that _vita sanguis_? I beg your pardon, my Latin's a bit rusty."

Ichiro blinked. "Oh uh… I'll take your word for it." He looked down at his smoothie, then Mikael's, then he looked at Mikael directly. "You drink _smoothies_ instead of blood?"

Mikael nodded. "One benefit of an extremely long lifespan is the ability to dedicate one's self to research in all manner of things. You may believe that the most well known fact of vampires is their thirst for blood, but this can be overcome by what we used to call _alchemy_. We now see it is science, and through this science we may live a peaceful life without preying upon others. Well, peaceful as long as you aren't an apple or orange." Mikael licked his lips.

Ichiro stared at those lips, that tongue, for a long time. It was only when Mikael smirked at him did he realize what he was doing, and averted his gaze. "So. You're… vegetarian vampires."

"We like to call ourselves 'Fruit Bats' actually," Mikael said with a delighted smile. "And now I welcome you to our cheerful little family."

The realization of it all dawned on Ichiro. "You don't drink blood… and I can't drink blood either, because then Alpha will… take over." He took a big sip of his smoothie and swallowed, waiting a moment before speaking. "What would he do if he did that?"

"He would probably go on a rampage, devouring the blood and bodies of everyone he came across. He's been starving, in a way, for a long time. Not starvation like you or I would see it. But he was originally an animal, and that instinct has outlasted his physical form. If he were to take over your body completely, all the sudden sensory information would likely overwhelm even his powerful mind and he would give in and… etcetera." Mikael looked thoughtful, but there was something melancholy in his voice that gave Ichiro the impression this had happened before.

He nervously decided to change the subject. "So… I'm not a vampire, but I am being possessed by the ghost of a… vampire bat, or something."

"It's a bit like that," Mikael said with a nod.

"So then… what does that make me, exactly?" Ichiro asked, now more curious than worried.

"Well, I think a good name would be a 'therianthrope.'"


	8. Therianthrope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dodging the question for a while, Mikael explains to Ichiro more about what has happened, and what Ichiro can expect in the future.

"Bless you…" Ichiro said with a smirk.

"Ha ha, that wasn't a sneeze," Mikael explained. "A therianthrope is a person who can change into an animal. It describes were-wolves, nagual, selkies, nekomata…"

Ichiro held up his hands. "Werewolves? Neko… that's Japanese for cat."

Mikael looked around suspiciously. "Don't let Cami know we're talking about this, she'd love to tell you all about the creatures of Japan…" He cleared his throat before continuing. "Since man drew pictures upon the walls of caves, he has yearned to experience life as other sorts of animals. There are many paths to this sort of power, if one knows the right kind of magic."

"So I'm not a vampire. I'm a… were-bat." Ichiro finished his smoothie, boggling at the notion.

"Something like that. So then! Shall we go over the benefits of this transformation?" Mikael said, standing up. He finished his smoothie as well and left it on the table. Chad quickly walked over to clear the table, smiling broadly at Ichiro--the young man's carefree attitude did little to assuage Ichiro of the feeling that he was in a truly bizarre situation. Mikael led Ichiro into the back part of the building, through the break room he had spent the previous night in, and up a set of stairs. He opened the door to the roof, where the clouds had parted to allow a bit of sun to shine down.

Ichiro blinked as his eyes adjusted to the difference in light. Mikael pushed his glasses up as well, hiding them behind the dark lenses of his glasses. "Oh--I suppose this proves it, but… I guess vampires can go out in the sunlight without problem?"

Mikael grinned in such a way that his long, sharp fangs were more apparent. "Contrary to popular belief, vampires _can_ go out during the daylight… though we do not, as you can see, sparkle." He held out his arms, turning to bask in the light of the sun. "We are a touch photosensitive, especially our eyes, hence the sunglasses. Cami will fool you--she wears contact lenses to filter the light."

Ichiro blinked as he processed all of this. "So… what is it like to be a vampire?"

"A great deal more complicated than what you're about to become. Oh, and by the way, until we enchant your clothes properly, they're not going to change with you." And with that, he held up his hand. Ichiro could barely make out the same glowing symbol he had seen the night before.

"Wait, what are you--" he tried to say, before he felt his whole body tense and contort. _Something_ happened… And it happened so quickly that Ichiro could not understand why everything suddenly seemed very dark. And somehow muffled… he felt trapped, as if wrapped in a bed sheet or the bottom of a sleeping back. He struggled to free himself of whatever trap Mikael had sprung upon him--but wait, there, a light at the end of some sort of tunnel…

Ichiro stuck his head out the neck hole of his t-shirt and blinked up at the huge, towering form of Mikael, standing before him. The vampire was smiling with delight down at him. "My goodness. You're _adorable_."

Such a statement could not even be taken as subjective. Ichiro had become an _objectively_ cute bat, which looked comically small with its head sticking out of the t-shirt, blinking at the light in the sky. He wriggled out of his clothes and crawled forward, using his wings as arms or forelegs to keep his balance. He lifted up his right arm, marveling as it unfolded into a massive, sail-like wing at his command. "I'm… a bat?" he said, but it sounded wrong. It sounded like "Squeak?"

"Yes, you are a bat, and the next question you will have will be, 'why can't I talk?' And the answer to that is also, _you are a bat_." Mikael chuckled and knelt to gently pick Ichiro up. His ears were huge, and while much of the fur on his bat-body was a ruddy brown, the fur on his back and head was black like Ichiro's hair. Mikael scratched Ichiro between his massive ears. "But because of Alpha, you will be able to understand the vocalizations of any bats you meet. Including yourself."

"Whoa," Ichiro squeaked. "I'm… a bat!" Ichiro looked down to where he expected his hands to be, and noted a single talon on each that he quickly realized could hook into Mikael's jacket. He crawled up Mikael's arm and sat on his shoulder, to get a better sense of his new size. He blinked down at his clothes on the ground, finally realizing what had happened. "My clothes--I'm _naked_!?!" He nearly fell off Mikael--the vampire's chuckle felt like an earthquake to Bat-Ichiro.

"I told you. We can enchant your clothing so that it will change shape with you. But that takes a little work. Now… let's explain your situation a bit." He gently lifted Ichiro from his shoulder and him out in one hand. Ichiro squeaked in a moment of protest, and fell--only to find himself hanging from Mikael's hand, clutching with the claws on his feet. Rather that feeling dizzy, it all seemed quite natural. Mikael didn't even seem to be upside down to Ichiro.

"Whoa..!" Ichiro said with his bat-voice. "This is… easy! "Um… so I'm just a regular bat?"

Mikael smiled. There was so much mirth and warmth that it make Ichiro's little heart beat faster. Or perhaps that was the natural speed at which bat-hearts beat. He could not say. "There are _many_ kinds of bats, but you are not regular in the least. However, because of your association with me, you've taken the form of _pteropus vampyrus_."

Ichiro gasped. Well. It was another sort of squeek, but Mikael could tell it was a gasp. "I'm a _vampire_ bat?"

Another laugh. Ichiro was starting to find that he liked seeing Mikael laugh. It was a nicer experience then the dour, reserved demeanor Ichiro's new friend seemed to prefer. "No actually. Despite the fierceness of the name, _pteropus vampyrus_ is commonly called a flying fox. Or… _fruit bat_."

Ichiro touched the talon on his left wing to his little bat-chin. "Oh… so that's where you got the name…"

"Indeed. We all thought it was quite clever. Now though… I think it's time you tried flying, don't you?" Mikael lifted Ichiro up so that Mikael's arm was extended nearly vertically.

"W-wait, flying? I'm not--wait, Mikael, _I don't know how to flyyyyyy_!" Before Ichiro could finish his squeaking protest, Mikael had flung him high into the air--much higher than Ichiro would have imagined possible. At the apex of the toss, Ichiro felt the terrible sensation of a fall… but then he heard something…

"You're not helpless, you silly human! You've got me--now, _let's do this_!" It was Alpha's voice, which had grown somehow more masculine and baritone in Ichiro's mind. Without thinking of how it was happening, Ichiro began flapping his arms--faster than he thought possible. In seconds he had found the strength to maintain his altitude, and with new purpose, he spread his wings and soared.

Ichiro marveled at how easy it seemed. The air itself bore him aloft, gliding over and under the membranes of his arms. He felt as if his fingers were dancing, and realized that the long spurs between the membranes _were_ his fingers. With just a slight movement here or there, he could bank and turn in the air. When he felt as though he might be losing too much altitude, he flapped his wings quickly and ascended. He looked down at the familiar sight of the city below him, from a very _unfamiliar_ point of view. Ichiro was filled with a regal emotion, as if the whole world was his dominion, his to explore. It was the most liberating sensation he had ever felt.

"How do you like it?" came a voice. To Ichiro's surprise, it was Mikael's, not Alpha's.

"It's wonderful!" Ichiro squeaked with glee. "So… Cami did this last night. Can you turn into a bat, too?" he asked curiously. He wondered briefly if Mikael could hear him from all the way up here, but Mikael responded quickly.

"I can, but as a vampire, I have limits. During the day I can turn into a bat in the hour around dawn, the hour around dusk, and once at the hour when the sun is highest in the sky," Mikael explained.

Ichiro puzzled at this information. "That's… weird. Why is that?"

"Well I could explain," Mikael offered, "But I'm not sure I want to interrupt you at the moment. You look like you're having an awful lot of fun."

Ichiro grew bolder, and began performing a series of aerial acrobatics. "It _is_ fun! Wow, look at me!" He folded in his wings and flipped forward before extending them out again, to glide slowly toward the roof and Mikael. As he neared the ground, he flapped furiously to keep himself from landing, and hovered in front of Mikael. "It feels so natural!"

"That's because I'm doing all the work," came Alpha's voice. "You're welcome, by the way."

Mikael chuckled. "As if you weren't delighted to have a chance to fly after all this time. I'm sure you were looking forward to it."

"Hmph," was Alpha's only response before he quieted.

Confused, Ichiro carefully landed on his clothing. He furrowed his little bat brow, looking at the outfit that looked as if it had been tossed carelessly on the roof. "How… um… can I change back?"

Mikael blinked, and looked almost worried for a moment. "We haven't frightened you have we? I imagine Alpha's a bit of a rough co-pilot, but you seemed to be having such a good time."

For a moment Ichiro was glad he was covered in fur, to hide the blush he was feeling. "Well I am, I just… would rather have someone up there with me, someone physically with me, to show me how it's done."

Mikael blinked, and stooped down to look closely at Ichiro. "I think your ears are turning pink. Are you feeling all right?"

Ichiro's little bat-eyes widened and he reached up with his wings to hide his huge ears. "N-nothing's wrong with me! I--jeeze, these ears are huge! Eheh. Er. J-just… could we go out flying this evening, maybe? After the sun goes down?"

Mikael smiled, and Ichiro though there was some sort of glint in his eye as well. Ichiro was worried until the vampire spoke. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Actually, there's something I want you to help me with, if you're willing."

Ichiro grew excited and he stopped covering his head with his ears. "Sure! I want to help! You saved me, it's the least I can do!" Mikael's expression grew grim, suddenly. It took a moment for Ichiro to realize Mikael might feel guilty for the injury that had been inflicted upon Ichiro. "Hey… look, it's not your fault those goons with knives were at the library! It's not your fault, Mikael."

Mikael's face smoothed and relaxed slightly. "Well. In that, you are correct, and that's what we're going to do tonight. Fly about town as bats, to see if those hoodlums are still prowling the streets. If you stay close to me, my magic will protect you from anything they might have… ah, but of more pressing concern may be your transformation back."

Ichiro flattened his ears down slightly, considering the task. "Er… yeah. You sort of… did this to me, so I figured you'd turn me back?"

"You will find that returning to your 'natural' form will be much easier than taking some new shape for the first time. The body wants to be as it was born… usually." Mikael adjusted his glasses, looking carefully at Ichiro. "So… concentrate, and force your body to expand back to its proper size and shape. You will find that all the mass--the muscle and the bone--are hiding below the surface."

"Well… all right…" Ichiro puzzled over the ideas Mikael was filling his head with, and stood over his clothes, concentrating. He closed his eyes… he flexed all the muscles in his body… but it wasn't happening. He grew nervous… and he realized Mikael was watching him intently. "Um… could you…?" Ichiro asked carefully.

Mikael blinked. "Hmm?" He had a confused look on his face.

"Could you… you know, turn around? If I'm naked now, I'm gonna be… you know…" Ichiro trailed off. His ears were turning pink again.

Mikael covered his mouth to hide a chuckle. "I'm over 500 years old, Ichiro. I've seen a bare bottom or two in the last few centuries."

Ichiro flailed his wings, flapping. "Well you haven't seen _mine_! So just… turn around! Let me change, and I'll put on my clothes and then tell you when I'm done!"

Mikael sighed and shrugged, turning around. The bottom of his coat twirled around with him like a cloak, before settling, while Mikael stood with his hands on his hips. "I should not dismiss your modesty so easily, I apologize Ichiro."

Ichiro concentrated again, as if trying to push his hands out of his wings, and slowly his shape and size changed. It was a slower, and slightly more uncomfortable process than becoming a bat had been. But after more than a few seconds he was his old self again--well, the slightly more muscular version of himself.

Mikael tilted his head as he heard the quiet thump of human footsteps while Ichiro started to dress himself. But suddenly, the young man cried out in pain. Mikael's eyes widened. Had there been a bit of broken glass on the roof? Was Ichiro being attacked by an assailant on another building  with some sort of silent, ranged weapon? He spun around--to see Ichiro struggling to get one foot into his pants, while his jacket and shirt still lay on the roof. " _Gaaaah_! It's so cold on the--" Ichiro froze when he caught Mikael looking.

Mikael was also frozen, staring at the naked form of Ichiro, who was turned away from him. Well, there was one more bare bottom. "Y-you're… not hurt..?" Mikael asked slowly.

" _TURN BACK AROUND_!" Ichiro exclaimed in shock and embarrassment. He quickly pulled his pants back up, hopping from one leg to another while Mikael… continued to watch. "D-didn't you hear me!? I said turn around!!" Ichiro pulled on his shirt and jacket and folded his arms over his chest, looking quite upset and defensive.

"But… I mean… you were naked the whole time you flying around… and I was just…" Mikael struggled to explain.

"W-well that was different! _I had fur and stuff_!!!" Ichiro retorted.

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before the ridiculousness of such a statement set in. Ichiro started laughing first, then Mikael started laughing as well, and the both of them chuckled for a long while before Mikael caught his breath. "I'm… sorry, you're right. Ah… you were about as naked as a cartoon animal, I suppose… I hadn't considered that."

"N-no no, I mean… gosh that sounded silly when I said it out loud." Ichiro also caught his breath, still snickering, and finished dressing by putting his tennis shoes back on. "All right, so then, why don't we just forget--"

The moment was interrupted by the door to the roof slamming open. It was Cami. "Chad told me you had gone up here, where--Ooooh. You were up here with your friend." The look on the purple-haired woman's face made Ichiro clench his jaw. It was as if she knew exactly what was going on… or was imagining something much more ribald. "Well come on down, it concerns him too."

Mikael let out a long-suffering sigh. "What is it Cami?"

"Misty is here. She wants to meet your new friend."


	9. Misty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro has heard that a guest has arrived, but he doesn't know what to expect from this newcomer with a curious name...

"Misty… I think Chad mentioned her earlier," Ichiro noted as they walked back down the stairs into the _Flying Fox_. "Where does she live?"

"Misty? She likes to spend her time in San Francisco. In fact she was down there last night," Cami said thoughtfully, touching her chin with her finger.

"Last night? And she's here _now_!?" Ichiro asked in a hushed shout.

"The dead travel quickly," Cami said with a wry grin. Ichiro looked at her blankly so she sighed and kept going. "We have all kinds of magic, you know. Traveling between two homes isn't all that difficult, and raises far fewer questions than taking a plane. Ever try explaining to a TSA agent why you're check-bagging a _coffin_?"

Ichiro blinked and looked at Mikael. "You guys sleep in coffins?" he asked in surprise.

"They're handy, though a tad theatrical. And not mandatory. Ask Cami about her authentic _futon_ some time." Ichiro only saw a fraction of Mikael's smile as they entered the break room, but the grunt of exasperation that came from Cami seemed to indicate a problem with said _futon_.

The breakroom was empty, so Mikael led Ichiro and Cami into the restaurant proper. At one of the booths sat a young woman with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, a pair of short-shorts, a leather bomber-jacket, and a scowl.

"Well," she grunted. "He sure doesn't look like much." She stood up and walked over, putting her hands on her hips and giving Ichiro an up and down glance. Ichiro blinked and held out his hand to shake. The glare this new woman gave him made him pull the hand back quickly. He was afraid she might cut it off. "I'm not here to make friends with you… what's his name?" she seemed to ask anyone but Ichiro.

"Misty, meet Ichiro Harrison. Ichiro, this is Misty Spencer." Cami made the introductions politely, with a smile, but it did nothing to improve Misty's mood. Ichiro, on the other hand, had to cover his mouth to hide a snicker.

" _You're_ Misty? Is that your real name or your… _stage persona_?" he asked, barely containing his amusement.

This only seemed to add fuel to the fire raging within Misty. "It's my _actual_ name you snot-nosed _man-child_! And even if I did still dance--which I don't--it would not be for the amusement of a male representing oppression and the _erect-ocracy_!"

Ichiro blinked. "Don't you mean… aristocracy?"

" _NO!_ " Misty responded, practically yelling. "Damn it Mikael! _This_ is what I came to see? This is the result of bonding…" she started to say, before trailing off. Ichiro blinked, but Mikael spoke up.

"He's taken to calling our friend Alpha, now. And our friend seems to like the idea." Mikael gave Misty a shrug.

Ichiro stopped glaring at Misty as he heard Alpha's voice. "Hello Misty. It's been a while. It seems your arms have been properly reattached. I hope they don't hurt?"

Misty's face grew, if anything, more drawn and angry. "You _flying rat_! If you hade a physical body I would punch it right in the teeth right now!"

"Technically I do!" Alpha teased. "It's this gentleman right here. I'm sure he'd be a good sport, and I'll make sure his teeth grow back straight. Maybe even a little sharper!" Ichiro blinked as Misty seemed to seriously consider the idea.

"I don't think I'd mind that. Mikael, what does this kid know? About us, and about what you've done to him?" She folded her arms across her chest and gave Mikael a serious, but far less enraged look.

"Precious little, I'm afraid. I had intended to give him more information tonight, but he's already learned how to change shape and I wanted to help him practice flying." Ichiro blinked as Mikael stepped over to put his hand on Ichiro's shoulder. "In fact, Cami and yourself are welcome to join us."

Ichiro looked suddenly worried. "Th-they are? I thought it was just going to be the two of us!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "What, was it going to be some sort of date?"

Ichiro's eyes widened. "What!? No! Of course not! W-why would you think that?"

Before Misty could respond with another insult, Cami leaned it to "whisper" by hiding her mouth with her hand, still speaking loud enough for Ichiro to hear. "Our new friend hasn't had a lot of _experience_ with these sorts of things. I don't think anyone's attended to his _cherry_ just yet, if you know what I mean."

Ichiro's nostrils flared as he glared daggers at Cami. " _My cherry is none of your damn business_!" He felt like flailing his arms and stamping his feet, but Mikael touched him again--and Ichiro felt instantly soothed.

"Calm yourself Ichiro. We're all friends here… aren't we Misty?" Mikael looked at the blond vampire, who turned up her nose at the idea.

"He's still a stranger to me, cherry or not," she announced.

" _Again_ with the cherry thing!?" Ichiro shouted.

Cami giggled. "Well we are Fruit Bats, after all. We concern ourselves with _fruits_ all the time." This comment brought sour looks to both Misty _and_ Ichiro's faces.

Misty cut off Ichiro before he could take the bait. "Whatever. So the kid already knows how to fly?"

"Indeed! He's quite a natural… or at least inclined to let Alpha do most of the work. Now, let's head to the back room and I'll outline our flight plan."

The crowd began heading toward the rear of the restaurant--all but Ichiro, who raised his hand slowly. "Er… before we do any of that… can you uh… enchant my clothing? So we don't… have _that_ problem again?"

Mikael seemed to blush--at least it was the reddest Ichiro had seen of the pale man in the last two days. Misty rolled her eyes but Cami seemed very excited. "Oh, of course! I'll see to that myself!"

\---

For some reason, Cami's insistence that Ichiro remove all his clothing was easier to bear--or perhaps _bare_ \-- than if Mikael had asked the same thing. Ichiro tried not to think about it… or the idea that their flying lesson was going to be a date. That was silly, he thought. Wasn't it?

"Here, change into this in the employee washroom, then bring your clothes out for me." Cami handed Ichiro a nice, silk kimono colored grey but with intricate designs woven into the fabric. It looked very expensive, and luxurious.

"Whoa… this must have cost a fortune…" Ichiro noted as he marveled at the outfit.

Cami sighed. "It did… I got it as a gift to Mikael, but he didn't seem particularly fond of it. He left it here instead of taking it home."

Ichiro swallowed nervously and carried the outfit into the bathroom, stripping out of his clothes but leaving the door open a crack to talk. He kept an eye on Cami through the slit. "So um… does that mean the two of you are… dating?"

Cami giggled. "Dating? You think two vampires with hundreds of years of experience do anything as mundane as _date_?"

Ichiro blushed and tried not to imagine too much. "Ok well… are you… l-lovers or something?"

This brought only more laughter from Cami. "Oh, I keep forgetting you've only known us for a few days. No Ichiro-kun, we are not lovers. Mikael really is the full package… I'm just not at all interested in one." She winked at the bathroom and Ichiro nearly fell over trying to get out of his pants.

"W-what does that mean?" he stammered.

Cami looked at him blankly for a moment, then sighed and smiled. "Have you ever heard of the vampire Carmilla?"

"Uh… no…" Ichiro said carefully. "Should I have?"

Cami shook her head. "Not necessarily. But that's my real name. Carmilla Karstein."

Ichiro paused as if expecting more information. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"I'm a lesbian, that's all." Cami shrugged. "Actually, of all the people here, Misty is the only _lover_ I've had." Her smile faded, and Ichiro squinted. She had a rather melancholic look on her face, but she turned so that he couldn't see it as clearly. "But that's ancient history, relatively speaking."

Ichiro cleared his throat, finally taking off his boxers--giving them a hesitant sniff to make sure they weren't too gross--and slipped the kimono on. It was very comfortable and fit him nearly perfectly. "So… you're a lesbian, and… I guess that means she is to? Misty, I mean."

Cami turned back around, smiling again. "Oh indeed. A militant member of the LGBT community, that's our Misty. She'll probably give you a lot less trouble when you tell her you're gay too."

Ichiro flung the door open. " _I'm not gay_!" he said in an accusatory tone. "I don't know where you got that idea, but I'm straight as the day is long!"

Cami smirked and pointed at Ichiro. "You didn't fasten the belt tightly enough, so the front is gaping," she explained. Ichiro turned beet-red and spun around, adjusting the kimono so that it properly covered him. "Also, make sure you fold the left side _over_ the right, and not vice versa," she added.

Ichiro blinked and did as he was told. He had crossed the right over the left, at first. "Why do I need to do that?"

"In Japan, you always wear the left over the right on a kimono. Because right-over-left is how they prepare corpses for burial," she said, matter-of-factly.

Ichiro's face went from beet-red to pale in an instant. "Oh. Um. Got it." He turned back around. "Is that how you guys do it? Since you're… vampires and all that."

Cami smiled coyly. "Only if we want to look like corpses… or ignorant tourists."

Ichiro rolled his eyes and went back into the bathroom to retrieve his clothes. "Ok, let's just do this as quick as we can… please?" He handed over the garments to Cami, who gave them a little sniff, making a face.

"We prefer doing this with _clean_ clothes, obviously, but it's not like anyone warned you about this." She set the clothing on a table, and drew… what looked like a pen from her uniform. With a little twirl, it seemed to expand in length, until it looked a bit like a magic wand. The tip began to glow, and she traced the glowing point over Ichiro's clothes, leaving glowing symbols on each garment as she went. The light in the room seemed to grow slightly dim as she cast her spells, until finally everything faded back to normal and her wand shrank down to pen-size again. "All done!"

Ichiro gathered up his jacket, shirt, pants and boxers again and silently slipped back into the bathroom, watching Cami in amazement. "You're some kind of magician," he announced.

"Oh you flatterer! I'm just a regular old lesbian-vampire-cosplayer, that's all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those coming here looking for Owari no Seraph characters... meet my version of Mitsuba. If you were wondering why I always change names, its so when I turn a fairly average tomboy into militant bulldyke lesbian, I'll hopefully get less flak for it. ^_^
> 
> "The dead travel quickly" is a paraphrasing of a line from the early part of _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker--who is in turn quoting G.A. Burger's _Lenore_. The original German line is "Denn die Todten reiten schnell" which actually translates as "because the dead ride [on horses] fast." Bram Stoker made quite a lot of references to other works in his book, and sometimes it feels like a precursor to modern fan fiction--which is why I have so much fun referencing it.
> 
> Speaking of references, the origin of Cami's name is revealed: it's a shortened form of Carmilla, a famous vampire story about a lesbian vampire who seduces young women with her mind powers. Cami is inspired by Shinoa, as well as by a lesbian-cosplayer friend of mine, who inspired me to write Fruit Bats. And if anyone is curious, yes the magic wand is a reference to Shi-chan, Shinoa's cursed gear in Seraph. It's apparently actually called _Shikama Doji_ , though I don't remember how often she ever calls it that.
> 
> And I'm sure someone would be anxious to point out that only _yukata_ kimonos are supposed to be folded left-over-right, or something. I'm not the expert on Japanese culture that Cami claims to be, but she and I know exactly the same amount Japan. I'm just not shy about admitting when I don't know something. Cami on the other hand...


	10. Reconnoiter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Ichiro has been properly introduced--and prepared--it's time to see what Mikael has in mind for tonight.

By the time Ichiro had gotten changed back into his clothes, the sun had dipped low into the sky. Cami called the others into the break room. Mikael smiled at Ichiro as he entered, and walked over to give the dark-haired young man a pat on the shoulder. "I trust she wasn't too rough?"

"She was fine," Ichiro admitted. "She let me use a kimono…"

Mikael blinked and blushed, suddenly remembering the gift. "Oh, that…" He turned to see Cami glowering at him. "I told you, I don't lounge about enough to enjoy something like that…"

" _Baka_. You could have at least taken it home… well, I'm glad you didn't! Ichirio appreciated having it to wear while we did the enchantments."

Misty marched over to the roof-access stairwell. "Good, I don't want to waste any more time. This is barely a plan anyway…"

Ichiro blinked. "What _is_ the plan?"

Cami chimed in. "It's probably 'fly around in bat form until we see something suspicious,' am I right?" She smirked at Mikael.

The pale vampire rubbed his head. "It's more formalized than… well ok, yes, that's the gist of it."

Cami's know-it-all grin remained on her face as she led Mikael and Ichiro up to the roof, where Misty was waiting. "And you're sure this kid can keep up?" she asked Mikael as he stepped out into the evening air.

"I'm quite positive. He's taken to flying like he was born to it..." he said with a faint smile. Ichiro blinked. At the end of his sentence, Mikael's tone changed just slightly and when Ichiro looked at him, it seemed that Mikael had grown pensive, thinking on something.

Misty, however, gave them little time for introspection. "Then let's get started." She closed her eyes and spread her arms out, and her body seemed to explode in a puff of fog or mist. As the cloud of vapor dispersed, Ichiro saw her bat-form: like Cami and himself, Misty had the pointy ears and snout of a flying fox. Her fur had a warm, golden quality to it. Mikael and Cami also followed suit--Ichiro was much less surprised to see Cami's purple fur this time, but he was more curious about Mikael. The male vampire's bat-form was larger than the girls'; and compared to the lustrous color of Misty, his fur was almost white or grey, with only a slight blond tone. All three landed and looked up at Ichiro expectantly.

"Well hurry up! We haven't got all night," squeaked the Misty-Bat.

"He hasn't done this part without help before," Mikael explained. "But I have every confidence he'll manage."

"Don't worry Ichiro-kun, this is just one more cherry you get to pop," squeaked the Cami-Bat. Ichiro glared at her.

"Stop _saying_ that! Grrr…" He flexed all the muscles in his body and concentrated, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Useless," Misty muttered.

Something snapped in Ichiro's head. Instead of simple indignation at Misty's comment, he felt a sudden aggression he had never known. Before he knew what he was doing, he leapt at Misty. He wanted to grab her by the fur, and bite her, and give her a slap with his wings--and then he paused. He had wings! He looked down at his bat-form and marveled. "Ha-ha! I did it! And you thought--" He cut himself off as the other three leapt into the air and started flying away. He was quietly thankful he hadn't actually hit Misty as he had intended, privately wondering where such anger had come from, then squeaked "Hey, wait for me!"

The four of them flitted up into the evening sky. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and there was enough faint light in the sky that Ichiro could still see the city below clearly. He felt his mood improve substantially as he used his new body to defy gravity. The four flew in a loose formation; Mikael was taking the lead, and he continually turned his head about as he flew and soared gracefully through the air.

Cami squeaked a question. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

"Men, in white hoods… My suspicion is that the hooded shirts they wear represent robes. Some sort of vampire-hunting religious order, or the like." Mikael spoke with a thoughtful expression--at least Ichiro thought it looked thoughtful (perhaps Alpha was translating bat-body-language as well?)--while continuing his observance of the ground below. They were following a slow circuit around the edge of the city.

Something occurred to Ichiro. "Wait… men in white hoods--maybe they're _assassins_!" he suddenly exclaimed.

The other three bats turned to look at him as if he was an idiot. "You're an idiot," Misty added for emphasis.

Mikael sighed. "Real life is not like a video game, Ichiro. It is unlikely that our assailants are formally trained as assassins. Still, something one of them said made me uneasy…"

Cami flew up closer to Mikael. "What _did_ they say? You didn't explain much about the attack, other than what happened to Ichiro."

"It's because… it rattled me. Perhaps I wanted to pretend I misheard him… anyway, one made specific mention of dying on the steps of a church." Ichiro wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Mikael's bat-face seemed to grow quite grim. Cami seemed surprised as well, for her good cheer seemed--at least for the moment--to evaporate.

Ichiro decided to break the momentary silence. "It was a library, not a church… well, it's not a church anymore," he pointed out. "And why would it matter either way?"

Misty flew in front of the trio, tilting her head back to speak to Ichiro. "Because Mikael died on the steps of a church _five hundred years ago_ , bright eyes."  With a twirl, she fell back in formation to keep an eye out behind the group; Ichiro, meanwhile, felt the fur on his back stand on end.

"O-oh. I didn't… know," he said quietly.

"Of course not… don't trouble yourself over it. It's not something I'm fond of sharing, especially with strangers," Mikael explained. "In fact, the only reason I feel safe speaking of it _now_ is the unlikelihood anyone can hear us… or understand the squeaking of bats."

"Yeah, don't worry about it, cherry-boy!" Cami squeaked in back-handed reassurance. "It shows how much he trusts you, after all."

Any of the pleasant feeling Ichiro still had from flying suddenly disappeared at Cami's comment. He was tired of that idiotic nickname! The same bout of rage he had felt at Misty's comment flared up yet again. "I told you--to stop--calling me that!" He swooped up above Cami and tried to dive-tackle her out of the air, repeatedly. Her squeaking laughter as she dodged Ichiro's attacks only served to drive him… shall we say, batty?

"Would you two _please_ stop playing around? We're trying to--" Mikael tried to say, before Ichiro managed a lucky hit. Caught unawares, Cami's laughter was cut short as the two of them tumbled down from the sky, smacking into a cedar tree below, crashing through several branches together before separating and catching themselves.

" _Moe_!" Cami squealed in dismay. Ichiro blinked in a daze, unsure how Alpha's translation managed to turn her squeak into a Japanese word. "That was reckless and stupid!" Cami hung above Ichiro, apparently having stopped her fall before he did.

Ichiro turned his head up to look at her. "Well then stop calling me _cherry-boy_ you purple-haired _witch_!"

Cami stuck her little bat-tongue out at him. "Why don't you come up here and _make_ me, ch--"

"Cami, that really is quite enough. Could you perhaps show a level of maturity that matches your age?" Mikael flapped and landed on the branch next to her, hanging upside down to look between Cami-bat and Ichiro-bat.

Cami looked indignant. "I'm simply maintaining a youthful exuberance that matches my adorable appearance!" she said, turning her frown into a radiant smile. Well, the sort of smile a bat could manage.

"Shorty," Ichiro muttered.

Misty swooped in and dug her claws into the trunk of the tree, apparently unwilling to share a branch with any of the other three. "Though I hesitate to congratulate either of you on your pointless bickering… are these the guys we're looking for?" She gestured by pointing her snout down below.

The tall cedar tree was part of a small greenbelt, which also included a skate-park. Five men in hooded sweatshirts were sitting around, smoking. One was keeping his eyes alert while the other chatted with each other. Mikael recognized him as the tall man with the Irish accent. The four bats focused on the group; even though they were several dozen feet in above ground and perhaps a city block away, Ichiro could hear them speaking clearly.

"Oi, boss-man, what are we hanging around here for anyway?" asked one, with a faint accent that Ichiro could not place.

Another chimed in. "Yeah, shouldn't we be tryin' to flush that vampire faggot out? We only got his boyfriend last night." Ichiro grit the tiny teeth in his snout, realizing they were talking about him.

"Ha! You lot don' know vampires like I do. Flushin' 'em? Like quail? Nah, wit' a vampire, ye _bait_ 'em. Ye give 'em a lil' nick… and wait."

A third man belched and tossed his beer-can to the ground. "Waitin's borin'. Besides, we didn't wait when we knifed that one in Colorado!"

There was a round of dark laughter from the rest. "Oh, what was his name--what'd he call himself-- _Ruth_?" More laughter.

Ichiro frowned but he heard a gasp from Mikael, and a whisper. "Tch. So that's what happened to Ruthven."

The men were still laughing. "And to hear him beg, 'Oh, don’t kill me! I know too much! I could teach you!' What, how to be a poof?" The laughter continued, punctuated by belches.

Ichiro turned to look at Mikael, worried. "Was Ruthven a friend of yours?"

"An acquaintance." Mikael seemed content to leave it at that, but Misty squeaked quietly as well.

"Ruthven was a sadist and a murderer, without a hint of guilt for his actions." She made an angry squeak. "Good riddance to him!"

"Misty…" Cami said hesitantly, but Misty climbed onto the branch Mikael and Cami were hanging from, and swung down carefully.

"He wasn't like us," Misty said. "And we offered him so much! But he was more interested in playing the predator. I won't weep for a monster, even if these vicious little children were his end."

Mikael brought his wing to his mouth. "Shhh. I think this is going to be important."

The tall, Irish man stood up tall, on a bench, and addressed his comrades. "Gentleman, I want t' take this moment t' thank you for yer righteous dedication to the eradication o' these abominations." The group quieted their laughter, and let the tall man speak. "You d' not hide in yer beds, waiting fer the sun t' rise and burn these creatures to ashes. You hunt them in the night, clad only in yer Christian faith t' protect ye."

Mikael dropped from his branch to land next to Ichiro and spoke in whispered squeaks. "That's very interesting. These men don't know a thing about how vampires work if they think sunlight will kill us…" He grinned a little. "Or that their faith will stop us."

Ichiro barely paid attention to Mikael, as the tall man continued. "… an' let us be clear that we save not only the lives o' every soul in this city from their monstrous ways, but the _sanctity_ of Christian value, when we stamp out their homosexual--"

Ichiro felt his temper flare again. Mikael seemed to sense it too. "Ichiro… I don't know what you're thinking, but please remain here… You're a fruit bat, not a fighting machine…!"

But Ichiro could not comprehend Mikael's pleas. These men were beneath mercy. They were murderers, who had been willing to kill him just to get at Mikael. And somehow, he knew--as he flew through the air, diving at them--that Alpha had given him more than the form of a tiny bat. He had power, now. The power to prevent these villains from harming another innocent soul.

The creature that landed upon the peak of the skate-park's ramps and rails was not a flying fox. It was nine feet long from the tip of its snout to the powerful tail that flexed behind it. Its arms were huge, supporting massive wings folded beneath them, with a full set of dangerous claws at the midpoint. Covered in a combination of quill-like fur and hardened, bony plates, it looked as much a dragon as it did a bat.

Ichiro opened his mouth and issued forth a hissing roar at the men in the park.

The tall man, who had been speaking just a moment before, pulled back his hood--revealing short, grey hair and a pair of round spectacles that seemed to glow white by reflecting nearby streetlights. He stared at Ichiro, before asking, "What the _fuck_ are you!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Irish vampire slayer spouting off on Christian values, with grey hair and round glasses? Who could that be? But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.
> 
> This is the first part of Fruit Bats where the characters all turn into... fruit bats. It was a real joy to write, especially when I remember to say "squeak" instead of "speak." Expect to see as much of this as I can manage to fit in. In my dream world, I'd have a reason to turn a character into a bat in every chapter, but I won't compromise a good story for the gimmick... even if I love the gimmick.
> 
> And one final note--part of this chapter may feel very critical of religion (or in particular, Christianity). I don't have any problem with Christianity, Christians or Christian values--so long as none of those things lead to persecution, violence or prideful arrogance. I believe Christianity is at its best when it espouses the values of love, community and acceptance. When used as a tool for condemnation or the rationalization of terrible acts--such as murder, in this story--then it becomes no different from the way religion is used by terrorists. Please remember to show kindness in faith.
> 
> Anyhow, these sort of subject matter should be relatively rare in my writing, and hopefully no one is turned off too much by it. Please continue to enjoy the story!


	11. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro has become something far more than human, and is now eager to bring justice... or vengeance... to those who nearly ended his life.

The monster that Ichiro had become advanced forward, crawling up the structure of the skate park to bring its face in close to the Irishman's. Ichiro growled at his assailant.

"Don't you recognize me?" he asked, in barely-understandable English.

The cocky, would-be vampire-hunter blinked, unsure of how to deal with the situation. "I think I woulda remembered some'n like you," he said, still trying to grin, despite the sweat that was beading down his brow.

Ichiro brought even more of his bulk up, now towering over his former assailant. "Last night. At the library. _You threw a knife at me_ ," he managed to say, even with a mouth full of fangs.

Ichiro paid little mind to the gasps and the shuffling of nearby feet, as the Irishman's four accomplices seemed to struggle on how to deal with the situation. Ichiro remained focused on the Irishman, who stammered. "I woulda thought twice about tha' if'n I'd known ye could… do this," he admitted.

Ichiro's eyes glowed red, his anger boiling inside him. "You called me 'faggot.' You called me a 'fairy,' remember?" The man nearly fell off the structure of the skate park, trying to back away from the giant bat-monster, but Ichiro's claw lashed out and grabbed him by the leg, lifting the man so that his upside-down head was level with Ichiro's snout. "Well… _DO I LOOK LIKE TINKERBELL TO YOU!?_ "

Before the man could respond, Ichiro tossed him into the faux-swimming-pool pit in the lower part of the skate park, 30 feet away, watching the "little" human slide to the bottom of the bowl. He let out another hissing roar.

"Ichiro."

The voice made the bat creature spin, clambering for a perch atop the skate park's ramps and rails. Mikael was standing at the edge of the fake pool. On either side, Cami and Misty had somehow halted the escape of the four other vampire-hunters, who stood silently, their faces vacant.

Mikael kept speaking. "That's enough, Ichiro."

"They nearly _killed_ me, Mikael!" Ichiro hissed. "They're trash, scum! Murderers!"

" _So are we, Ichiro_." The bat-monster blinked, and Mikael swept his arm about to gesture to Cami and Misty. "We have killed countless scores of humans in our lifespan. We no longer do so--but does that excuse our crimes?"

Ichiro stared at Mikael. "What… what are you talking about?" He looked down at himself and closed his eyes, calming his hot blood and willing his body back to its natural state. He shrank down to normal size, and climbed carefully down into the skate-pool to look up at Mikael. "You're not a murderer!"

The vampire sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Would that I could erase centuries of barbarism and cruelty from my past… But I cannot, Ichiro." He knelt, offering a hand. Ichiro furrowed his brow, then ran forward and up the sloping surface of the pool, grabbing Mikael's hand and using the vampire's strength to pull him out of the skate park.

Ichiro caught his breath after a moment, and looked at the four men still standing. "What are you… doing with them?"

Cami smiled, but kept her eyes on two of the men. "Making sure they don't go anywhere, until we do this properly. Misty, if you would please bring your two charges over here?"

"Got it," Misty responded. The blonde woman roughly shoved the two men she was watching over to Cami, who had a rather malicious looking smile on her face.

"All right… gentlemen. And I use the term loosely." She cleared her throat and continued. "Everything you witnessed here tonight was a dream! Nothing more than that. All five of you actually got drunk at a tavern down the street, then stumbled out into the night air and passed out in this skate park together. But you're not going to discuss the dream with each other, since you'll be too embarrassed--because for whatever reason, each of you started kissing the man next to you."

The men, entranced as they were, stared at Cami, and dumbly nodded at everything she said. When Cami finished speaking, as if on cue, each man turned to the one next to him and began kissing, slowly and deeply. With tongue.

Cami clapped. "Excellent! Make love not war, and all that jazz. Ok then… time to pass out!" She snapped, and all four men collapsed in a pile on one another, completely unconscious.

Ichiro blinked. "You… _what the heck Cami!?_ "

The purple-haired vampire gave a little bow. "I'm quite good at getting people to do what I want," she said with a wink. "This way, none of them will dare speak of the night's events, and they'll presume they imagined it all, anyway."

"Which leaves us with their ringleader," Misty pointed out, folding her arms across her chest. "Where'd you fling him Ichiro?"

Ichiro pointed to the back of the park. "Somewhere… over there. I don't think I threw him too hard," he said hopefully.

"Let's take care of him, then. I've got some questions I want to ask him," Mikael announced, leading them to the back of the skate park. They circled around the rim of the fake pool, where the Irishmen was trying--barely--to push himself onto his hands and knees.

"How… dare ye… do this to… Andrew Alexson, vampire hunter and… heathen… punisher…?" His last statement turned into a question as his head tilted up at the four figures above him. "Who are you two bitches?"

Misty's nostrils flared and she put her hands on her hips, glaring down at the man. "You're lucky Mikael wants to talk to you at all, or I'd be _feeding you your own dick_ right now."

"Ye couldn't… manage that… lassie." Andrew (as his name was apparently) coughed up a bit of blood. "Oh… I think I might be bleedin' internally…"

Mikael sighed. "I really don't care. Now, please kindly tell me who sent you, and you're free to go back and tell him you bit off more than you could chew."

The vampire hunter managed to stand, unsteadily, on two feet. "I don't… know what yer talkin'… about." He grinned again. Ichiro noticed, with some satisfaction, that one of the lenses on the man's glasses was broken.

"Oh but I think you do," Mikael countered. "You didn't end up here by reading _Twilight_. Forks is about two hundred miles away, on the Olympic Peninsula."

This finally seemed to make the man upset. Even being tossed about by a bat-monster had not elicited so angry a response. "I didn' get 'ere by readin' some shite vampire love story!" he exclaimed.

"Exactly, so we're both in agreement," Mikael said. "So… who sent you?"

The Irishman huffed a few breaths out, calming himself and grinning again. "A mutual acquaintance of ours, actually," he said through gritted teeth.

Mikael frowned. "I want a name."

"Y'know, he said this'd happen." The man coughed up a bit more blood. "I assured him, said we were to be professionals, but he said you'd get me like this."

Mikael growled. " _Who_?"

"R. M. _Renfield_." Andrew laughed for a moment before he realized how much it hurt to do so, cleared his throat and continued. "Familiar with the name, aren't ye?"

Mikael's face paled, even more so than usual. "That's not possible."

"Oh, he said you'd say that too!" The Irishmen let out another pained laugh. "Boy, is my face red!"

Mikael leapt down into the pool, grabbed the vampire hunter by his shirt, and threw him _out_ of the pool, before leaping back up to land just a few feet away. "You're free to go now."

Andrew groaned. "I think I broke me bloody legs that time!"

Cami leaned over and looked at him, clinically. "You're fine, just sprained your ankle is all. I'm sure you can stumble to the medical clinic just a block from here!" She pointed down the street behind the man. "Oh, they won't open for another 8 hours or so… but what were you going to do in the middle of the night anyway? Go for a jog?"

Ichiro blinked at Cami's _helpful_ instructions, then looked at Mikael. "Who is R.M. Renfield?"

"A mistake," Mikael said, bitterly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the cat should be out of the bag now. The Irish vampire hunter is Andrew Alexson--but really, he's Alexander Anderson, from the famous _Hellsing_ manga and anime. Though clearly, this character is not a regenerator, but just a jerk and a bigot.
> 
> For those curious as to the exact appearance of Ichiro's bat-monster form, I took inspiration from the Nargacuga monster from the Monster Hunter series of games ([This is what they look like](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/monsterhunter/images/c/c1/2ndGen-Nargacuga_Render_001.png/revision/latest?cb=20150303084110)). Obviously, Ichiro's monster form has more grasping-style claws on his wings (the better to fling around jerk vampire hunters) but the general look is the same.
> 
> Also, I've gone ahead and done a (naughty) epic-name-drop right at the end of the chapter. Who is R. M. Renfield? Well, you can Google it, actually! But if you haven't read _Dracula_ , don't worry--everything will be explained in the story to come.
> 
> Sorry for this chapter being a bit on the short side, but next week's should have a bit more exposition. I'm also planning on writing an Omake style chapter where "Professor Cami" explains some facts that may have slipped past in the Fruit Bats universe--I'll include a link to that in the notes of a future chapter. Thank you for reading--and please consider supporting AO3 with a donation!


	12. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro's heart is heavy with worry, but Mikael gives him something to study...

The flight back to _Flying Fox_ was not nearly as enjoyable as the flight out had been. The three vampires and Ichiro transformed after Mikael was certain no one else had seen Ichiro's dramatic transformation, and returned home. Ichiro landed last, expanding out to his regular human form, and watched the other three enter the stairwell into the building… but Mikael paused, looking back at Ichiro.

Ichiro couldn't tell what Mikael was thinking, but it was a serious look. It was stern, perhaps worried, perhaps angry. It gnawed at Ichiro, for a long moment, before Mikael's features softened. "Come inside… I need to give you something."

Ichiro nodded and hurried inside, walking back down into the restaurant portion of the building. He sat at the booth where Mikael and Ichiro had spoken earlier that day--it felt like so long ago now, to Ichiro. He looked around the restaurant. With no light streaming in through the windows, the lamp above the table felt far brighter. It seemed to isolate Ichiro, not just from the restaurant, but from the rest of the world.

"Ugh, that guy," came a voice in Ichiro's head.

"Which guy--Renfield? You know him?" Ichiro asked Alpha.

The bat-spirit's response was a snort of derision. "Yeah. He's the reason I've been locked away with no name and no one to live in," Alpha explained.

_ That _ made Ichiro very curious. "Can you tell me about him--"

"Actually, I think we have a slightly better way of doing that," Mikael announced as he walked into the room. He was holding a heavy book under his arm.

Alpha grew silent and Ichiro watched Mikael stride over, depositing the book on the table with a heavy _whump_. Ichiro's eyes grew wide at the title on the cover.

_ Dracula _ . By Bram Stoker.

"This… isn't… we aren't supposed to say his name!" Ichiro sputtered.

Mikael nodded. "Don't say it out loud. But don't worry--reading this book is safe. Copies are still sold daily, throughout the world, in a multitude of languages. You could probably download it to your phone for free, if you cared to look." The vampire slid the book across the table to Ichiro, who picked it up.

The book's cover was plain, but Ichiro realized it was bound in _leather_ , and looked very fancy. In fact, it looked very _old_ , but despite the book's apparent age, it was in perfect condition. He opened it, and was greeted with a strange smell… the pages almost stuck together, as if the ink had not quite dried. It was a curious sensation.

Ichiro flipped back to the first page, and squinted. "Jonathan Harker's Journal… Kept in shorthand, 3rd of May… Bistritz?" He looked up at Mikael. "I don't understand."

"It's called an epistolary novel. It's not standard prose--it's written as a series of correspondence. Or what you'd call letters, ah… like email, but on paper." Mikael smirked.

Ichiro gave him a frown. "I know what a _letter_ is Mikael. I might not be… 500 years old, or whatever…but I wasn't born yesterday!"

This made Mikael chuckle, and it relaxed Ichiro greatly. Ichiro couldn't escape the feeling that Mikael had been angry at him, for what he did… for what he _almost_ did to Alexson, at the park. Mikael's laughter was short lived. "I'm sorry Ichiro, but… you have to remember, I've used letters to correspond for most of my life. If I had known the telephone would have led to text messages and all that… well, I would have tried making better investments." He winked.

This made Ichiro chuckle. "I guess investing is easy when you know you're going to live forever."

The smile faded from Mikael's face. "We live a long time… but no one lives forever, Ichiro. Lord Ruthven would tell you that, if those punks had not gotten to him…"

Ichiro's smile also disappeared. He thought back to what Alexson and his thugs had said. "Misty said… Ruthven was a murderer… a predator. And then… you said that you--"

Mikael closed the book on the table. "We didn't always live on smoothies, Ichiro. I said as much back at the park."

Ichiro reached out and took Mikael's hand, squeezing it. The act made Mikael's eyes widen. "But you don't any more! And you're sorry for what you did--I can tell!"

Mikael sat, transfixed, with his hand held by Ichiro's for a long moment. He smiled a little. "I am. Not a day goes by, where I don't find myself regretting what I've done."

Ichiro smiled. "That means you're not all bad, doesn't it? You'd only be a monster if you were still doing all of that… if you didn't care."

Mikael let out a long breath. "That's what you think, hmmm?" Ichiro nodded, still grinning. Mikael kept speaking. "Well… you will be happy to know that the girls and I--as well as some others you've yet to meet--have all sworn off blood, and the needless hunting of humans. Now, we fight only to defend ourselves, and we try to live quietly on the fringe of society." He spread his arms around. "That's what the _Flying Fox_ is. A haven for those of us who grew tired of killing… of being monsters."

Ichiro's smile broadened. "It sounds so cool when you say it like that!" This brought a surprising blush to Mikael's face, but Ichiro kept going. "I'm going to keep coming back you know. I want to learn all about you--" Ichiro caught himself when Mikael blushed even more and looked away. "--I mean--I'm going to learn all about the Fruit Bats."

Mikael took a deep breath and nodded. "I would be happy to teach what I can, when I'm not busy with other affairs… I'm afraid I'll have to spend a few days speaking to contacts. But that should give you plenty of time to read that book."

\---

Mikael said his goodbyes and left through the front door, leaving Ichiro alone at the table again. Almost immediately, he felt like he missed having Mikael around… but what was a few days? Besides, Mikael was right--it would give him time to read this book. _I wonder how much of this is real_ , Ichiro thought to himself as he brushed his hand over the leather cover. He half expected Alpha to say something, but the bat-spirit was silent.

"Oh… Ichiro, you're still here?" Cami asked, walking into the restaurant from the back room. She blinked as she sat down, apparently recognizing the book. " _That_. Have you ever read it?" Ichiro shook his head, and Cami continued. "Well… I won't ruin the ending for you then," she said with a smile. Ichiro thought her smile seemed forced, somehow.

"Mikael… um…" Ichiro tried to say, but he could not find the words he wanted to speak.

Cami's coy smile returned. "That was fast. You miss him already?"

"Yeah… I mean, _no!_ Psh," Ichiro lied.

Cami moved from across the table to the same seat as Ichiro, snuggling in close. " _Hooo_? You're awfully cute you know."

Ichiro gave her a look completely lacking in amusement. "I thought you were a lesbian."

Cami continued to rub her face against Ichiro's shoulder, gripping his arm and grinning wide. "I can still appreciate males! Kittens, for example--they're cute whether they're boys or girls."

Ichiro's face grew even blander. "You're calling me a _kitten_?"

"Yes! An adorable kitten-boy. Oh, so _kawaii_!" Ichiro grunted and looked elsewhere while Cami rubbed affectionately for nearly half a minute, before she gracefully hopped back to the other seat across from him. "But cuter when you're with Mikael, I think."

Ichiro glared sourly at her. "We're just friends! I already told you that."

Cami tilted her head curiously. "That's all… just friends? Good friends I hope--" Something seemed to occur to her, and she looked askance.

Ichiro grew worried. "What is it?"

"Well… I just want to know what you're willing to do for Mikael," she stated plainly, looking back at Ichiro.

Ichiro swallowed. "He saved my life… I owe him a lot."

Cami closed her eyes and held up a finger. "I'm sure, if he were here, he would point out that being with him--being _around_ him--is what got you in trouble in the first place. In fact, hanging out with vampires is almost certainly going to put you in harm's way in the future." She stood up, putting her hands on the table and leaning in to stare into Ichiro's eyes. "So… are you willing to deal with that?"

Ichiro's gaze did not waver as he watched Cami. "I am. I'll do whatever I can to help."

This seemed to brighten Cami's mood, and she sat down with a big smile on her face. "Excellent! Just what I wanted to hear. So then--I know that Alpha lets you change shape… but how about I start teaching you some magic tricks?"

Ichiro's face lit up. "Really? Magic--I could do _real_ magic?" Now it was his turn to stand up with his hands on the table.

" _Hai, hai_. Anyone with proper instruction can do a little magic--and certain things are inherently magical by themselves." She gestured grandly, sweeping her arms all around.

Ichiro didn't understand. "What are you talking about? What kinds of things?"

Cami held up a hand, smiling and ticking off things as she went. "Sunrises, roses, certain kinds of crystals, the sounds of some bells… that sort of thing!" She looked at the four fingers she was holding up, then extended her thumb as she seemed to remember something. "Oh and kisses!"

Ichiro stared at her. "K... _kisses_?" he asked.

Cami nodded. "Kisses are _very_ important. In fact, a vampire bite is sort of like… the corrupt version of a kiss." Ichiro blinked, and Cami continued. "A vampire bites to drink blood from a victim, which drains their strength… but a normal kiss can _give_ strength to another person. You know, like waking Sleeping Beauty!"

Ichiro raised his eyebrows. "Really… so that sort of thing… a kiss can be _real_ magic?"

"Oh yes, definitely. Actually, you should kiss Mikael sometime, if he's really weak and needs the magical energy." Cami's grin seemed just a touch mischievous, and Ichiro felt like she was having some fun at his expense.

He furrowed his brow. "You're just trying to get me to kiss Mikael," he stated flatly.

Cami shook her head. "I'm totally serious! If you kiss someone with real love or passion, they will get stronger--honest!"

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure."

Cami pointed at him, grinning. "You'll see. Mikael might seem really reserved, but I've known him for a _long_ time. If you ever see him run his hand through his hair--especially if he sounds tired--it means his energy is running low. _Dangerously_ low."

Ichiro blinked. He suddenly remembered Mikael doing that earlier in the evening. And Mikael _had_ seemed tired, or at least distant… "And… so if… he's really in trouble, and I can't do anything else… kissing him… that will actually help?" he asked hesitantly.

Cami nodded cheerfully. "I like girls, remember. Why would I lie about something like this?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, why indeed Cami...
> 
> _Dracula_. One of the most famous names in all of fiction. The original Dracula novel was published about 119 years ago, but remains incredibly influential. Especially where vampires are involved. Yet I'm surprised by the number of people who have never even _tried_ to read it. Well, as Mikael mentioned, you can download it for free--the story is public domain. Admittedly, it starts off pretty slow, but one of the things I like best is the pacing--how you slowly get a sense of the menace of Dracula and how he could seem like nothing more than an eccentric old man (at least at the start). For anyone writing vampire-fiction, I think it's a must read.
> 
> Now, as far as Cami's little misinformation campaign--what she's saying is at least partially true. There is power in a kiss (as far as THIS story's magic is concerned) but she's also having fun at Ichiro's expense. That should be pretty clear to everyone... except of course, Ichiro. This chapter was surprisingly fun to write, but I do feel as if I need to go through _Dracula_ again before writing the next chapter. I will say this, for those unwilling to subject themselves to the old book: Francis Ford Coppola's film is SURPRISINGLY accurate rendition of the original story, with a few liberties taken. The movie is treated semi-canonically by the "sequel" written by Stoker's descendant, which I have also read (I don't recommend it nearly as much as the original, though it is easier to read). Honestly, I think people should both read the book and watch the movie.
> 
> A final note: I've run out of back-stocked chapters, which may cause me to slow down slightly (I meant to have this chapter submitted this morning, for example), but I'll try to keep putting up chapters weekly, at least.


	13. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro has a lot of reading to do, and the start of his book is a little slow. But with a little help, he starts to see the bigger picture.

Ichiro returned home and went to his room, intent on reading as much of _Dracula_ as he could before falling asleep--because he was under the belief that each of his nights would now be haunted with nightmares by Alpha.

Despite this, Ichiro could not bring himself to read more that a few chapters--diary entries, actually--before succumbing to sleep's embrace. However, his dreams were not tormented by Alpha this time.

The small bat-spirit was hanging from a different tree this time, one that looked like a cedar that grew outside Ichiro's house. Ichiro spun around in his dreamscape, expecting to see his home, but the house he knew was not present. There was a driveway, but where the house should be was an empty void.

"I just wanted to talk," Alpha explained from his perch.

"Talk about what?" Ichiro asked.

"The book you're reading."

Ichiro raised an eyebrow. "Do you… um… read?"

"Not like you think, but since I can see everything my host does, I've actually 'read' quite a few. That book is one of them," Alpha explained.

Ichiro considered this. "Well, don't spoil the ending for me!" he commanded. Alpha made a sound Ichiro assumed was snickering.

"I won't ruin anything. But just… pay attention to what you're reading. Especially about Renfield," the bat-being cautioned.

And with that, Ichiro awoke. It was still dark out--five AM--but he felt refreshed. And he had not slept for many hours. Perhaps this was one of the perks of having Alpha in his body.

Ichiro got dressed, going with a yet another green T-shirt, black jeans and his black jacket, and got to school early. He spent every moment between classes reading _Dracula_ but still didn't get very far.

As soon as class was finished, he drove to the _Flying Fox_ , deciding that the moody atmosphere of the restaurant would be ideal for reading a book about vampires. But after just a few pages he realized he was reading very slowly. Chad, who happened to be working the counter at the time, walked over and smiled at him.

"Hi Ichiro!" came the young man's cheerful greeting.

Ichiro blinked and looked up, secretly delighted for a distraction. "Oh, hey Chad. Oh--could I order a smoothie? I'll pay for it!"

"Actually you're supposed to be given one free smoothie a day if you want one. Mikael's orders," Chad said with a smile. "Any requests?"

Ichiro's eyes widened in delight. "Oh um… something tropical."

"Pineapple, mango and coconut sound good?" Chad asked with a wink.

"Yeah! That'll be great, thanks." Ichiro smiled as Chad walked off to prepare the drink. When he heard the sound of a blender start up, Ichiro glanced back down at the words on the page of the book. He started reading them aloud. "'Each moment I expected to see the glare of lamps through the blackness; but all was dark.' Ugh… people wrote like this?"

"Not anymore, usually." It was Chad, bringing over a drink that was colored yellow-orange. Ichiro took a long, greedy sip when it was placed in front of him--he relished the taste of the fresh, tropical fruit--and Chad kept talking. "I recognize that sentence though. Having trouble reading?"

Ichiro swallowed. "Yeah, this diary that the guy is writing is so dry… he talks about the lunches and dinners he has, and I feel like he's describing every friggin' tree he sees while riding in this coach."

For some reason this made Chad blush a touch. "Ah well… imagine you're visiting a place you've never seen before, and you don't have… facebook or tumblr to share what you're seeing with others. You have to write it down. Wouldn't you want to write every detail you could, to remember it later?"

Ichiro frowned. "I think I'd probably just try to… remember it." He leaned back in his seat and sighed, staring at the book.

Chad tilted his head, then sat down opposite Ichiro. "Forgive a moment of unprofessionalism," he said, still blushing.

Ichiro blinked. "What are you doing that's unprofessional?"

It was Chad's turn to blink. "Well, sitting with a customer while I'm on duty! Even if it's a friend of the owner." The nervous young man cleared his throat before reaching out to tap the book. "May I make a suggestion?"

Ichiro nodded. "Uh sure, go ahead."

Chad took the book and scanned down a few sentences. "The… man writing the diary is traveling to meet a second coach, that will take him to… the castle, right?" Ichiro thought Chad was pausing in very specific ways, but he couldn't tell exactly why, so he simply nodded. Chad continued. "Let's see here, then this next part… Try reading this aloud to me." He turned the book back around and slid it in front of Ichiro.

Ichiro raised another eyebrow. "Read aloud?"

Chad smiled. "Well you're going to read it anyway. Sometimes words are different when we hear them out loud, instead of just looking at them." He pointed to a sentence. "Start here."

Ichiro shrugged and began speaking the lines out loud. "'We could see now the sandy road lying white before us, but there was on it no sigh of a vehicle. The passengers drew back with a sigh of gladness, which seemed to mock my own disappointment. I was already thinking what I had best do, when the driver, looking at his watch, said to the others something which I could hardly hear, it was spoken so quietly and in so low a tone…I thought it was "An hour less that the time."' Phew… He sure seems to take a lot of words to say 'We were early'." Ichiro looked up at Chad.

"Keep going," Chad said eagerly. "This part is important."

Confused but now quite interested, Ichiro continued. "'Then turning to me, he said in German worse than my own:-- "There is no carriage here. The Herr is not expected after all. He will now come on to Bukovina, and return to-morrow or the next day; better the next day."' I wonder…" Ichiro said, reading ahead a little, now furrowing his brow. "'Whilst he was speaking the horses began to neigh and snort and plunge wildly, so that the driver had to hold them up'." Ichiro swallowed before going on. "'Then, amongst a chorus of screams form the peasants and a universal crossing of themselves, a caléche, with four horses, drove up behind us, overtook us, and drew up beside the coach'."

He looked up at Chad, who had a sort of delighted smile on his face. "I told you."

"You said it was important… but it's sort of… ominous," Ichiro pointed out. "And what's a caléche anyway?"

"It's like a… coach or a wagon, I think," Chad said with a shrug. "I'm not an expert on hundred-year-old vehicles. Maybe ask one of the vampires?" he added with a little smirk.

Ichiro snickered. "I might do that. Ok… where was I… 'I could see from the flash of our lamps, as the rays fell on them, that the horses were coal-black and splendid animals. They were driven by a tall man, with a long brown beard and a great black hat, which seemed to hide his face from us. I could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamp-light, as he turned to us.'" Ichiro shivered at the description. "This guy seems like bad news."

Chad leaned back slowly and nodded. "Very bad news." He let out a long sigh and stood up, very thoughtful. "I hope you see the difference it can make reading aloud."

Ichiro nodded. "Yeah, it… I think I might have missed how eerie this whole section was if I hadn't, like… heard it. Like you said."

Chad looked out the windows. The sun was starting to dip low in the sky, quite early in the afternoon. Ichiro followed Chad's gaze and realized it would be dark soon, much like in the chapter he was reading. Chad spoke quietly. "It starts slow, but I think that's part of the book's strength. Jonathan--the… man writing this diary is treating his trip like a vacation. The reader might think everything is quite fine at first, too, but… things will grow dark quickly."

Ichiro was hypnotized by the light of the sun, shrouded by clouds off in the distance, dancing at the horizon. "Y-yeah… I get that feeling. Still, it makes me wonder about this Jonathan Harker guy… Harker…" Ichiro said the name twice, suddenly blinking at a realization. "Wait… Chad, isn't Harker _your_ last name?"

Chad blushed a bit and rubbed his neck. "Yes… actually. Eheh. Jonathan was my great-great-grandfather. Actually… my middle name is Jonathan."

Ichiro stared at him for a moment before the realization set in. " _You're his great-great-grandson?_ " he asked in shock, standing up and banging his head on the lamp above the table. "Ow! Son of a…"

Chad helped Ichiro away from the offending lamp, laughing nervously. "W-well if I had known you'd do that, I wouldn't have said it just now."

Ichiro barely felt the pain in his head from the bump, so full of questions. "So then--this book, the story--it really _is_ real?"

"Sort-of," Chad admitted. "Mister Stoker took… a few liberties. For my ancestors' safety." There came a clattering from the back of the restaurant, along with some loud curses. "Oh bother, I think Tom dropped something." He hurriedly walked to the back room, turning briefly to address Ichiro a final time. "Keep going! It really is a good story!" Then Ichiro was alone again.

Ichiro stared down at the book and began reading with a zest he had not felt before. Instead of just some boring book about a financier's trip to Eastern Europe, now Ichiro was reading _history_. A secret history that the rest of the world thought was pure fantasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it wasn't obvious yet, I really do love _Dracula_. And what Chad suggests to Ichiro about reading things aloud is true--but it can also be a lot of work, and if you're not careful you'll run your voice hoarse! Try to keep some water for sipping handy if you read a lot out loud. ^_^
> 
> I actually wrote this just now, instead of ahead of time like I usually do, so there may be a few more errors than usually (though I did proof read it twice). And as of right now--I have 550 hits on Fruit Bats! Thank you all for the support! I'll have to get to writing that Omake soon. :)
> 
> On a side note, the heat's been building up where I live, so I've been indulging in a lot of smoothies myself lately--if you live in the Pacific Northwest, I recommend Emerald City Smoothie. While none of their stores are quite as magnificent as the _Flying Fox_ , their flavors are legit. Wherever you are, however, enjoy your spring!


	14. Adorable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro is drawn deeper into the mystery of _Dracula._ But then he has a strange encounter with another member of the _Flying Fox_ staff.

Ichiro spent hours pouring over _Dracula_ , and felt oddly swept up in the events of the book. The journey to the dark castle terrified him… and yet at Harker's meeting of the Count, Ichiro was astounded. He had imagined Dracula to be a mustache-twirling villain, obvious in his evil--but much as Harker had, Ichiro was drawn into the confidence of the Count. He seemed, at first, to be nothing more than a rural lord whose only interest was to enter into the cosmopolitan world of the day: London, filled with--as the Count put it--"the whirl and rush of humanity."

Ichiro wondered if Dracula was truly a villain… but then, Harker had made a journal entry, dated May 8th: "I began to fear as I wrote in this book that I was getting too diffuse; but now I am glad that I went into detail from the first, for there is something so strange about this place and all in it that I cannot but feel uneasy." Ichiro was reading in his bed, sitting up with the book in his lap, and he re-read the passage out loud. Indeed, hearing the sentence aloud only made Ichiro feel uneasy as well, and he continued. Dracula's castle hid many strange secrets that Ichiro could barely comprehend.

Ichiro had stayed up quite late a few nights now, bolstered by the fortitude which Alpha had conferred to him, but eventually sleep claimed the young man. The dim reading light next to his bed seemed to fade, and suddenly Ichiro found himself in a dreamscape like the castle in the book, lit faintly. He was in an ancient washroom, with a tiny portable mirror--and unlike the electric shaver he used every other morning, he now groomed himself with a razorblade and shaving cream.

Ichiro stared into the mirror, trying to be very careful, but there was a voice behind him. "Be careful." Ichiro winced--the sound of the voice startled him and the razor bit into the side of his jaw, and he turned. The was a young person--it was hard to tell if it was a boy or a girl, though they wore a fine jacket that hung so low it appeared almost like a dress, hiding legs that seemed to be bare except for knee socks, and splendid shoes. The young person had red eyes--and suddenly Ichiro realized the voice was familiar. It was Alpha's voice.

"I _was trying_ to be careful, but you scared me." Ichiro turned back to the mirror, and realized that even standing directly behind, young Alpha was not visible in the reflection. Ichiro furrowed his brow at the realization.

"I think I'm supposed to say something about a 'bauble of man's vanity' here, aren't I?" Alpha sked. Even though the young person could not possibly stand as tall as Ichiro, Alpha's hands wrapped around from behind Ichiro, taking the razor from his hand. "But I don't care. I just want to taste _this_." Ichiro spun, thinking Alpha was going to attack him, but the young person simply licked the razor as if it were a knife covered in butter. "Delicious!"

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "Gross." Then a worry caught him. "Wait--you can't drink my blood! That's bad… isn't it?" he reasoned, though unsure of himself.

Alpha sighed. "It's a dream, stupid. We're in your head. This isn't real blood, it's dream blood." Alpha stared at him, then past him, making a _tch_ sound. "That is annoying though…" He strode forward and grabbed the shaving mirror and tossed it out the open window in Ichiro's dream quarters.

"What'd you do that for?" Ichiro demanded of his bat-like guest.

Alpha shrugged. "I don't know. It's your dream, I'm just playing a part in it." He stood next to the window and looked out into the night. The moon was full, and a few faint clouds were lit by silver moonlight, hovering over distant mountains. "These are the Carpathians. It really is a beautiful place. Even if it's a prison."

Ichiro walked through the dream quarters to the window, and looked out as well. The sky seemed a very dark blue, not black or grey--by contrast the mountains seemed more brown-and-green. The castle was nestled in the bosom of a valley, rising up as a man-made mountain of its own, and far below Ichiro thought he could see rivers winding around at the bottoms of cliffs. "You… think this is a prison?"

Alpha turned and tapped Ichiro on the forehead. "Not all prisons have bars. I'm a prisoner, of sorts, in your body. Aren't I?" Ichiro had no answer for the bat, so Alpha continued. "And Harker is a prisoner in this castle--or was, when he wrote this journal entry."

Ichiro swallowed and gingerly touched the cut on his jaw. "He does seem very nervous now… I suppose I would be too in this situation." He sat down on a splendid couch with lion claws for feet. "But it's better to be a prisoner in a castle than a… real prison, right?"

Alpha turned and stared at Ichiro. "A castle, a jail, or the mind of a boy… all prisons are the same, after you wait long enough." Ichiro stared at Alpha, but the young person turned and looked out the window at the sky, with a longing that made Ichiro feel distressed. "You become aware not of what you _can_ do… only of the things you are not _allowed_ to do."

\---

Ichiro woke and very carefully groomed himself with his electric shaver, checking his jaw repeatedly to make sure nothing was actually cut, and went to school. As he had the previous day, he made his way to the _Flying Fox_ immediately afterwards, and upon entering found Chad and Serena talking. Chad stood behind the bar, while Serena--still wearing a mostly-black maid costume with white highlights--leaned on it from the other side.

"Serena, the owners are worried that you're scaring away potential customers," he explained in a worried tone.

The dark-haired goth glowered at Chad. "I'm not scary!" she said, even as she seemed to appear quite frightful to Ichiro. He tried to sneak past the conversation to a booth, but Chad caught him out of the corner of his eye and he turned to wave.

"Hello again, Ichiro!" Chad said cheerfully.

Ichiro cringed and turned, smiling sheepishly and offering a wave. Serena blinked and turned to look at Ichiro. For a moment, he thought she would simply ignore him--as she had when they first met--but instead her glower deepened into a scowl that knit her brow together.

" _You!_ " she exclaimed in an accusatory tone.

Ichiro blinked. "Me?" he asked.

Serena gathered up her maid-like skirt and marched over to Ichiro. Her lips wore a black lipstick that matched the deep eyeliner she wore around her eyes. Faintly green eyeshadow further framed the frightful countenance she brought to full bear on Ichiro as she shoved her face within inches of his. "You're the one Mikael gave the Dark Gift to!"

Chad groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Mikael didn't do anything like that, Serena. Remember, they've _all_ sworn not to turn anyone else into vampires." He let out a long sigh. "And they don't call it the _Dark Gift_ or the _Embrace_ or anything else like in the books you read."

Serena spun on her high-heels and flailed, still holding the ends of her skirt in her hands. Ichiro blinked--she was wearing _very_ tall stockings, colored white in contrast with her mostly-black uniform. "That's easy for you to say! _You're_ descended from someone who actually shared the blood of… you-know-who!"

Chad put his hands on his hips and frowned. "I don't see how that's a good thing, you know."

Serena stamped her feet on the ground. "Oooh! It's just not fair! At least they could teach me more magic, the spells I know don't _do_ anything!"

Chad took another deep breath and shrugged to Ichiro. "She knows more magic than I do, but it's not enough. Don't let her bother you, she's just jeal--" Chad tried to say, but a death-glare from Serena cut him off, so he cleared his throat and changed his word choice. "She's _disappointed_ in the current situation."

Serena seemed to accept this, so she spun around again--she dropped her skirt, but folded her arms against her chest instead, looking warily at Ichiro. "So… what did they do to you then? Tom said you were dying. You look fine to me now." Serena watched Ichiro for a long while, and her eyes started scanning up and down his body. "Really… fine…"

Ichiro tried to wave her off. "It's nothing special, honest! Mikael was just worried about me, so he--" Ichiro tried to explain, before the goth-girl's eyes lit up and she cut him off.

"You--and Mikael--OH! Yes yes, I see how it is now!" She trotted over to Chad, her heeled shoes clicking as the hit the floor, and grabbed the young man by the arm. "They're _lovers_ aren't they?"

Chad slapped his face with his palm. "Here we go again."

Ichiro stared at Serena, his mouth hanging open. "L... _L-lovers_!?" he shouted, nearly dropping his copy of _Dracula_ to the floor as he raised his arms to wave them in protest.

"Two children of the night!" Serena continued, as if quoting badly-written fan fiction. "Drawn together by dark and tragic events, Mikael's lover… er… what was your name?"

Ichiro gave her an unamused look. "Ichiro Harrison."

"Mikael's lover _Ichiro_ nearly succumbs to the cold fingers of the grave! But the power of their love is too strong to be beaten by something as simple as _death!_ " She leaned heavily against the counter, the back of her hand affixed to her forehead, expressing the illusionary pain that had overcome her. "It's beautiful. Painfully so."

Chad whispered, "It's rubbish," before stepping out from behind the counter to speak to Ichiro. "I do apologize for her behavior. She does this sometimes. It's called… um… delusional--"

"SHIPPING!" Serena yelled, walking up to pound on Chad's back while he winced. "Shipping! Bringing the unseen love to the surface through the power of prose!" She held up her hand as if posing for some unseen audience, before adding, "It's transformative."

"...Sure!" Ichiro finally said, glancing between Chad and Serena. "Whatever… works for you! Except we're _not_ lovers," he added hastily.

The goth-girl smiled like a Cheshire Cat. "Suuuure," she purred. "You may not see it, but my shipping skills will show you how sure I am of your salacious secret!"

Chad blinked and shrugged again. "Well she knows how to alliterate at least."

Serena trotted over to Ichiro, and grabbed the arm not clutching _Dracula_ , squeezing it against her chest. "So, so… what _did_ Mikael do with you, exactly?" she asked, her voice oozing with the suggestion of sin.

Ichiro blinked, but decided to demonstrate, so as to separate the idea of a coupling with Mikael from the madwoman's mind. "Oh, it's nothing much, really, he just um… taught me how to do this!"

Ichiro pulled himself free from the gothic grasp of his new groupie, and set the book on a nearby table. Chad looked at him curiously, but just as Ichiro forced the transformation through his body, the young manager cried out, "No! Don't show her how you--" but it was too late. Ichiro-bat appeared in a puff of greenish mist and hovered in midair before Serena.

He squeaked out, in surprisingly-understandable English, "What do you think?"

Serena stared, jaw hanging open, at the sight before her… and then rushed forward, grabbing Ichiro in a fierce hug. "You're ADORABLE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hee hee! This was a lot of fun to write, and a bit self-referential as well. I sort of have an internal counter in my head--if I go too long without turning someone into a bat, I feel as if I'm betraying the concept of Fruit Bats. Plus, I've been dying to give Serena more "screen time" as it were.
> 
> Before anyone asks: No, Serena is _not_ based specifically on any _Seraph_ characters. In fact, she's based on a number of people I knew in high school, who tended to act this way--"goth" was very popular in the ancient times I still attended public school. ^_^; If you want to imagine what she looks like, I tend to think of her as Shigure with too much makeup on, but her personality is about as far from Shigure's as you can get.
> 
> Backpedaling a bit--Alpha's appearance at the start of the chapter is obviously not the bat-spirit I've shown off thus far in Fruit Bats, but much closer to Asuramaru's appearance in the comics and anime. The gender-ambiguity is due to the fact that I, myself, was _certain_ Asuramaru was a girl when I first watched _Seraph_. The way he is drawn, his outfit, and the female voice actress doing his voice painted a very feminine picture in my mind. And obviously, as long as he exists mostly in a dream world, Alpha can basically be whatever he wants.
> 
> A final note: Ever notice how no one ever seems to shave in most anime or manga? Mikael may get a free pass for being a vampire, but Yuu is in his late teens, and would probably be shaving fairly regularly at that point in his life. Even the older Moon Demon Company members tend not to have five o' clock shadows on their faces, even if they've been stuck out beyond the safe zones for days, battling vampires. And Guren seems like the sort who would TOTALLY rock a grizzly beard like that. Shinya on the other hand would probably shave first thing after making it back to civilization. Just food for thought! ^_^


	15. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichiro keeps reading _Dracula_ but his life seems full of distractions.

"Uagh! Let _go!"_ Ichiro squeaked, flapping in vain against Serena's hug.

"I had no idea you could do this! I thought only the Fruit Bats could… um, turn into fruit bats." Serena paused at the redundancy of such a thought, and while she was distracted Ichiro squirmed free, flying up to hang from the ceiling with a scowl.

"Were you trying to crush me!?" he demanded to know of Serena. Then he looked to Chad for an ally against the fiendish woman--and realized the young man was laughing his head off. " _Chad_!"

The managed wiped his eyes. "Oh I'm terribly sorry but that was _quite_ hilarious," Chad confessed. Ichiro squeaked a harrumph, and Chad waved his hands. "Don't be mad! At least she likes you now."

Indeed, Serena seemed to have hearts in her eyes for Ichiro. "What a darling surprise! And to think, Mikael is in love with him, too!" She cooed in a disturbingly affectionate manner.

Ichiro was glad his fur hid the blush he was feeling. "Th-that's not true! I think…"

Serena looked up and squinted, then grinned. "Your ears are pink."

Ichiro grit his teeth and let go of the ceiling, turning back into a human and landing--quite impressively--on one knee, next to the copy of _Dracula_ that he had dropped when he transformed. Chad clapped.

"Very impressive. That's the Iron Man pose, isn't it?"

Ichiro blinked and stood up, dusting himself off. "Was it? I didn't mean to do that." He picked up the book and backed himself over to his booth. "I'm uh, going to keep reading."

\---

The rest of the afternoon seemed to pass by quickly for Ichiro. Serena kept her distance, but watched Ichiro like a frilly hawk. Every now and again Ichiro looked up and saw her scribbling in a notebook. She would stop when a customer came in--looking upset, as if they'd interrupted something important--and quickly served them so that she could go back to whatever she was writing.

Ichiro paused his study of Jonathan Harker's nightmarish imprisonment to ask Chad a question while the manager walked past Ichiro's booth. "She is pretty bad at this job, isn't she?" Chad didn't say nod or say anything, but it seemed clear he agreed with Ichiro. "So then why keep her on? In fact, why tell her about the vampires in the first place?"

Chad shrugged. "She's… friends of the family, I guess you could say." He put his hands in his pockets and watched Serena write. "She might actually make a decent author if she weren't always focusing on nonsense relationships."

Ichiro furrowed his brow, confused. "Friends of the family?"

Chad blinked, and something seemed to occur to him. "Oh um… how far have you gotten in the book?" he asked carefully.

Ichiro peered down. "Well… Jonathan tried to escape. Some--gypsies, I guess?--were doing something in the castle basement. And now it's someone else's journal… Mina Murray." He squinted down at the page. "Wait, not a journal… letters. She's mailing someone named Lucy."

Chad had a rather sad look on his face suddenly, but it passed quickly. "Keep reading. And… try to pay attention to the names. I know there's a lot of people that get introduced--Lucy was a very popular girl with all the guys--but they're all important." Ichiro cocked his head to one side in curiosity, and Chad gave him a little pat on the shoulder. "You'll see."

\---

It grew fairly late, and Ichiro realized he should go home to have dinner with his parents. He put a bookmark in _Dracula_ and stood up to leave… but then Cami walked in the front door. She unfastened a coat she was wearing over a sweater and skirt, and handed the coat to Serena. "Good evening, Serena! Hope you worked hard today!"

"Oh I did!" Serena assured her. "I wrote a lot of scenarios--"

Cami sighed in a very put-upon manner. "I meant at your _actual_ job, Serena."

Serena paused and frowned. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I did some stuff." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Chadwick thinks I'm scary!"

Cami gave Serena's head a little pat, at the goth seemed to perk back up when the vampire spoke. "The only thing scary about you is your imagination," Cami assured her. She looked around and smiled at Ichiro. "Konbanwa, Ichiro!"

Ichiro stared at her for a second, then remembered what the word meant. "Oh uh, yeah. Good evening to you too Cami."

Serena leaned in conspiratorially with Cami and whispered--loud enough that Ichiro could hear--"I found out about him and Mikael."

Now Cami was grinning in the same delighted, mischievous manner as Serena. "Oh isn't it adorable? They both deny it. But Ichiro's come to the restaurant every day since he met Mikael… and he doesn't seem the _least_ bit interested in you or I."

Ichiro glared at the set of cat-like smirks he was faced with. "You're both inventing things. Mikael and I are _friends._ "

"With benefits?" both girls asked him at once.

"UGH!" Ichiro groaned before he marched out of the restaurant and drove home for dinner.

\---

After so much reading, Ichiro felt as though he needed a break, so he went to bed early. But as much as he wanted to sleep, he could not force himself unconscious. Eventually he heard a voice in his head.

"Can't sleep?" Alpha asked.

Ichiro responded mentally. "No, I guess I've got a lot to think about."

There was a pause. "You aren't afraid of me giving you nightmares. And I won't, unless I get bored," Alpha assured him.

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "Thanks, how generous of you."

"You're welcome!" Alpha said cheerfully. There was another long pause. "I like Serena."

Ichiro let out a breath and rolled over in his bed. "Then go live in her."

"Sorry! I'm stuck with you until Mikael or one of the others casts a spell to release me. Or you learn enough magic to do that yourself." There was a sing-song quality to Alpha's mental voice. "Besides, I like you more as a host."

Ichiro waited for Alpha to speak but the bat-spirit remained quiet, so he asked, "What do you like about Serena?"

"She knows what she wants."

Ichiro considered that. "You don't think I know what I want? Is that what you're saying?"

There was an animalistic sound, and Ichiro realized Alpha was laughing at him. The bat spirit spoke again. "I think you know what you want, but you aren't admitting it to yourself."

Ichiro felt himself blush again. "Mikael is just a friend! Why does it have to be more complicated than that?"

"Because you can turn into a bat. Because you're hanging out at a smoothie bar and restaurant with a load of vampires. Because there is a madman out there who sent someone to kill your new friend, and they nearly killed you instead." There was a pause again, and it all sunk in for Ichiro, before Alpha finished: "Your life is _very_ complicated."

\---

Ichiro couldn't tell when he finally fell asleep, but he was glad he needed little rest to refresh himself… he woke up feeling troubled and pensive. But now it was the weekend! He would have all day to read and no school to worry himself with. He got up, said hello to his folks and nearly walked out the door before his mother stopped him.

"Ichiro-kun! You're barely dressed and showered… and you want to leave so soon? Where are you going?" she asked.

Ichiro blinked, having had little reason to explain himself since meeting the Fruit Bats. "Oh uh… I met some friends. I'm hanging out with them a lot!"

Ichiro's mother, a Japanese woman who loved doting on her son, briefly showed concern. "I hope these are good boys?" she asked, in accented English.

"Uh, boys and girls. A whole bunch of them!" Ichiro assured her. "Not like a gang or something."

She seemed unconvinced. "You are not doing the _drugs_ are you?"

Ichiro blinked and laughed. "No, mom. We hang out at a place where they make smoothies."

This seemed to change her mind instantly. "Oh good! Fresh fruit, very healthy! No wonder you start to look so strong!" She giggled and pinched Ichiro by the cheek.

He sighed. "Thanks mom."

\---

Ichiro arrived quite early--so early in fact, that he was surprised to find the _Flying Fox_ open at all. As he entered, it was not Chad or Serena that greeted him, but the larger gentleman with the beard and mustache. Ichiro remembered his name was Tom.

"Uh, good morning!" he said carefully. Tom looked over--unlike Serena's furtive glances or Chad's friendly demeanor, Tom just looked stoic. Or pissed off.

"Morning," he said, cleaning a glass with a damp towel. He kept his eyes on Ichiro, who felt uncomfortable after a moment.

"Yeah. Um… I'm Ichiro--"

"I know who you are kid," Tom assured him, finally smiling. "You nearly died when I was trying to close up shop that night."

Ichiro cleared his throat. "Uh, right. Tom, yeah?" Tom nodded. "I'm uh… Ichiro--I said that already--and um… I'm going to go sit at a booth and read for a while." Ichiro held up the copy of _Dracula_ and waved it a little.

Tom squinted, seeing the name of the book, and then raised his eyebrows. "Right. Just so we're clear, I'm not my great-great-grandpa. Got it?"

Ichiro was taken aback by the announcement. "Uh… sure? I don't… know your… great grandpa."

The clerk raised an eyebrow and started cleaning another glass. "Guess you haven't met Quincy then…" he trailed off, looking thoughtful, then spoke up again. "Oh and Mikael should be back today. You stick around and you'll see him."

Ichiro tried not to look excited but nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks! I'll… be right here!" He walked over to his booth and sat down, realized how odd the restaurant looked in the morning light compared to the previous evening.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tom added after Ichiro sat and started reading again.

Ichiro looked up, blinking. "What's that?"

"We're going to have a staff meeting. So get ready to meet a few new friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I've been having a bit of trouble being inspired to write _Fruit Bats_ lately. The Overwatch beta is not helping! I'm distracted, but writing one chapter a week really shouldn't feel like a chore, and I need to keep writing.
> 
> I'm thinking of starting a second project once I reach a point in Fruit Bats where I feel a pause might be a good thing. We'll see though--I'd rather stick to this until it's the size of a regular book.
> 
> If you ever have questions about my writing--why I do things the way I do, or where a character's inspiration comes from--feel free to post a comment! It doesn't even have to be Seraph or Fruit Bats related.


	16. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another newcomer, and Ichiro comes to realize how interconnected all of his new friends are.

Ichiro blinked. A staff meeting? Was Tom inviting him? He did not have a job--working at the _Flying Fox_ or otherwise--but Ichiro had been to the back rooms of the restaurant more than a few times already.

"Uh… ok," Ichiro answered Tom, non-committal in his response. Tom just smiled as if he knew something Ichiro didn't (something Ichiro found people did to him with annoying frequency) and kept cleaning his glasses.

And so Ichiro kept reading. Soon, it seemed as though Jonathan Harker's trials in Dracula's castle were long ago, and the story changed to reflect the love life of a young aristocrat named Lucy Westerna and her friend Mina Murray. Ichiro could scarcely believe this girl was courting three men at once, leading them all.

It drove Ichiro to mutter. "This girl needs to pick someone…"

It was now quite bright outside, and at the sound of the front door opening, Ichiro glanced up--and wished he hadn't. Serena walked in, wearing a _slightly_ different gothic-Lolita costume and a _slightly_ different shade of make up. Instead of plain black, it seemed to be a very dark purple. Her eyes sparkled as she caught sight of Ichiro, who ducked his head down and focused on his book. He heard Serena mutter something to Tom, who barked out "I don't care," rather gruffly. Serena _hmphed_ and went into the back room.

When she was gone, Ichiro dared to call out to Tom. "What did she say?"

"That you and Mikael are bangin'," Tom replied without much enthusiasm.

Ichiro's face contorted with rage. "She's just making stuff up!"

Tom nodded. "She's _always_ making stuff up. And like I said--I don't care." The bartender-like fellow kept cleaning the glasses and the bar surface, and so Ichiro kept reading.

Within ten minutes the door opened again, and this time it was a young man with glasses. He seemed short to Ichiro--then he realized the newcomer simply had poor posture. Coupled with a _Flying Fox_ uniform that seemed one size too large, the dishwater-blonde gentleman looked a touch nervous. He walked over to Tom.

"I'm not late am I?" the stranger asked.

Tom shook his head. "Nope. I wouldn't be out here if the meeting started."

"Right." The staff member pushed up his glasses and glanced around, catching sight of Ichiro. Ichiro had stopped paying attention to read but heard the man with glasses ask, "Is that the uh… guy that Mikael…?"

"Yeup. Go introduce yourself Bobby." Tom nodded in Ichiro's direction, and Ichiro looked up blinking.

Bobby, it seemed, was not so interested in Ichiro as Serena was, but he sighed and strolled over, offering his hand. "Bobby Holmwood, at your service."

Ichiro took the hand and gave it a shake. Bobby seemed to wince at the grip--was Ichiro really that strong? He hadn't meant to squeeze too tightly. "Ichiro Harrison. Nice to meet you Bobby--wait, Holmwood?"

Bobby raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah? Something wrong--Oh." He let out a sigh as he looked at the cover of Ichiro's book. "Reading up on great-great-grandad's exploits, I take it."

Ichiro's mouth hung agape. "Chad told me he was descended from Jonathan Harker--but does that mean, you're Arthur's--"

"Uh huh," Bobby said with a half-smirk. "Lord Arthur Holmwood's flesh and blood. But don't call me Lord or anything, I'm just a sales clerk. I help Chad with the books too--Oh speaking of which, I need to go and check the ledgers. 'Scuse me."

Ichiro watched him leave, then looked at his book. Something else bothered him--and it was partly because of Tom's grin as he finished cleaning the bar. "So, if he's--Holmwood--and Chad is Chad Harker--then you're--"

"Distantly related to Quincy Morris, yeah. He was my great-great-grandpa. He had a son--out of wedlock--named John, who did some work fighting vampires, and so did my grandpa Jonathan."

Ichiro stared in confusion for a long while before speaking. "Wait, how does the grandson of a vampire hunter end up… working in a smoothie place _owned_ by vampires??"

Tom hung his towel around his neck and walked over to the table, sitting down across from Ichiro. "Grandpa Jonathan fought a load of vampires right around World War 2, but he couldn't have done it without help. Mikael and the others don't like vampires that hunt humans for sport, and they're happy to give tips on fighting bloodsuckers, assuming it's to someone they trust."

Ichiro scratched his head. "Still… this Quincy guy is a big Texan… and you're um…"

"Not." Tom nodded. "Actually I was born in Minnesota, moved out here when I was ten or so." He smirked. "My life isn't as interesting as my ancestors'."

Ichiro considered that. "I don't know if I like how _interesting_ my life has become, honestly."

That made Tom chuckle. "And it's only going to get weirder!" the bartender exclaimed.

\---

It was another half hour before Chad arrived. He approached Tom quickly. "Everyone here?" he asked.

Tom shook his head. "Isaac is running late."

Chad sighed. "That's not a big surprise, but I bet it's because of something he was working on for the bar. I got a text from him last night."

Tom grinned. "Written half in Dutch?"

"German, actually," Chad said with a sigh. "You know they speak English, French, German AND Dutch in the Netherlands? Most of them at least."

Tom laughed and nodded. "Even when he's speaking English I can't make out most of what he's talking about. He's smarter than me."

"He's a good sort, if a bit…" Chad trailed off, making a circular motion with his finger near his head.

"He's _enthusiastic_ Chad." Tom winked.

"Eccentric is the word most people would use," Chad pointed out.

"He's an enthusiastic eccentric, all right? He'll be here. We haven't got much to say until Mikael gets in anyhow."

Ichiro perked up at the mention of Mikael's name. His look caught Chad's glance, and Chad smiled. "Morning Ichiro! Going to join us at the meeting? I think you know most everyone already."

Ichiro looked down at the book. He hadn't made too much progress… but he was bored reading about Lucy and everyone's great-grandparents at the moment. "Ah… well, ok!"

\---

Tom and Chad went into the back room. Bobby and Serena were huddled together on a couch, whispering things to each other--but Ichiro was surprised to see Misty and Cami as well. "How did you guys get in here without using the front door?" Ichiro asked.

Cami twirled like a dancer, waving her arms. "Ancient vampire secrets--"

Misty cut her off. "We flew in." The blonde vampire pointed at the stairs.

Cami huffed. "You have no sense of _theater_ Misty!"

Ichiro spoke before Misty could give Cami an angry retort. "Why not just walk… or drive?"

Tom walked over and fussed Cami's hair. "Her legs are too short to reach the pedals in a car."

The glare Cami gave the big bartender frightened Ichiro, but it only made Tom laugh. Cami scolded him. "You know making fun of your boss is a good way to get demoted!"

"I'm a sales clerk and a bartender. I don't know how you could demote me, Cami."

Cami considered this. "I'll make you scrub the toilets--"

Chad sighed. "He does that already. Tom, please don't tease the ancient vampire."

Tom shrugged but quieted up. Cami nodded smartly and then addressed the group. "Welcome everyone, it's time for our monthly meeting! I think you've all met Ichiro--" Cami paused and looked over to Bobby, who nodded. "--right! Well then, as a refresher let's just say our names."

"We have name tags," Bobby pointed out. Cami gave another glare, and Bobby straightened up in his seat. "But that's so impersonal! Ah ha." He stood up and bowed. "Robert Holmwood," he said. "But everybody calls me Bobby."

Tom nodded. "And call me Tom. My full name is Thomas Morris," he added.

"Chadwick Harker, but you knew that already," Chad said with a smile. Everyone looked expectantly at Serena.

The goth girl stood up and curtsied. "Serena Moonshadow," she said with much ado.

Chad rubbed his neck. "How about your _actual_ name, Serena?"

This seemed to destroy whatever good mood Serena had been trying to keep. "Oh _no_! Please don't make me. I hate it, it's… it's… _gross_ sounding."

Tom turned to avoid letting anyone see him laughing and most everyone else rolled their eyes, except Ichiro. "Wait--Moonshadow isn't her real name?"

Cami sighed. "No. Serena, please tell him. He's reading up on the family history, and you might offer him some perspective."

Serena huffed but finally nodded. "All right, it's Serena _Seward_ , okay?"

Ichiro blinked. He quickly flipped open his copy of _Dracula_ and looked down at his book marked page. "Doctor Seward--I just got to a journal entry by him--"

"Then perhaps you could read part of it aloud for us," came a voice from behind Ichiro.

Ichiro turned to see Mikael walk into the room. He took off his jacket to reveal a white shirt under a black vest, and khaki slacks. It was a bit less ostentatious than the outfit Ichiro had seen him wear previously--but no less stylish. Mikael's hair was still tied back in a ponytail, and he removed his sunglasses to look around the room.

Ichiro blinked. "Read aloud?"

"Yes, if you're at the point I think you are, it has some bearing on the news I've come to bring."

The rest of the group became silent. Even Serena had nothing to say--Ichiro thought she looked very nervous indeed. He shrugged and began reading:

"'I question him more fully than I had ever done, with a view to making myself master of the facts of his hallucination.' He um, just got friendzoned by this Lucy girl, so he was talking about some sort of… mental patient, I think?"

Mikael nodded slowly. "Keep going," he urged.

Ichiro did so. "'In my manner of doing it there was, I now see, something of cruelty. I seemed to wish to keep him to the point of his madness--a thing which I avoid  with the patients as I would the mouth of hell.'" Ichiro shivered, then blinked. "Uh, 'Mem.--'"

"It's a side note," Serena offered quietly.

Ichiro blinked and nodded. "'Under what circumstances would I _not_ avoid the pit of hell?' Huh, good point… let's see…is this Latin? 'Omnia Rome venalia sunt. Hell has its price!' This is a little confusing."

Mikael smiled. "You're doing fine."

"If you say so," Ichiro said, swallowing, before he kept reading. "'If there be anything behind this instinct it will be valuable to trace it afterwards _accurately_ , so I had better commence to do so, therefore--" Ichiro paused, his eyes widening. "'R.M. Renfield, age 59.--Sanguine temperament; great physical strength; morbidly excitable; periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out. I presume that the sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish; a possibly dangerous man, probably dangerous if unselfish. In selfish men caution is as secure an armor for their foes as for themselves.'" Ichiro paused to take a breath, his eyes wide. "He was… Renfield, he was the mental patient?"

Mikael nodded. "In the care of Serena's great-great-grandfather, a doctor remarkably ahead of his time, though only grasping at truths when this journal was recorded."

Serena smiled just a little as Mikael walked over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. She nodded and spoke quietly. "Sorry for being sort of… drama queen-y, Mikael."

"Nothing new there," Tom said with a wink. Serena scowled at him and he held up his hands defensively. "I'm just joking! You're fine Serena."

Ichiro was reading more and more, but to himself now. "Arthur, the doctor, Quincy… they were all… soldiers?"

"Adventurers, is a better term. Quincy was the true warrior of the little group, but Arthur was the one who led them all over the globe. And Doctor John Seward would patch them up after they were wounded in such activities." He smiled at Tom, Bobby and Serena as he spoke of their ancestors. "It was sheer coincidence that Renfield ended up in the care of the doctor. Well… sometimes I wonder about that."

"But what happened to all of them?" Ichiro asked with excitement. "I mean this was all a hundred years ago, but…"

"But the answers are in that book, I assure you. Keep reading." Mikael smiled and turned to address the group. "Now, before we get too fixated on history… how's business?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet Bobby! No he's not Kimizuki. He's short, his hair isn't pink and he's sort of cowardly. I'm still trying to figure out how to include the Kimizuki-expy in the story...
> 
> Mentioned (briefly) is another character named Isaac. He'll be showing up soon, don't worry. Fancy a guess as to who he is? I'll give you a hint, there's a very important _Dracula_ character without a descendant yet represented in this story. -_^
> 
> I've got most of the human cast introduced at this point, but there will be a few more vampires making appearances. Of particular note is someone representing Krul. She's going to be a lot of fun. ^_^


	17. Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slow and boring business meeting leaves Ichiro wondering what to do, until an opportunity presents itself...

The next two hours were anything but exciting. Mikael really seemed intent on making sure his business was running smoothly, even though he apparently had some very important news to share. Ichiro wondered why he didn't just come out and say it--instead, he learned exactly how much fruit the Fruit Bats had recently bought, _where_ the fruit was from, how _fresh_ it was, which _recipes_ the fruit was used in…

In short, Ichiro had grown very bored.

"The price of guava has gone up recently," Bobby pointed out as he adjusted his glasses.

Cami touched her lips thoughtfully. "Guava's popular. If we start selling guava drinks for more, we might make up the cost in the short run, but maybe we should promote it less for a while. Do you or Chad think this is a short term increase?"

Chad sighed. "It's hard to say. We get most of our stock from Mexican suppliers and they're having labor troubles." He muttered something about "threatening to build walls" under his breath.

"As long as people keep buying it we'll keep stocking it," Mikael announced. "But cut down on orders of it for a while. It's more popular in the summer anyway."

Ichiro sighed and tried to read more of _Dracula_ , but found it difficult. While the meeting wasn't terribly interesting, it was also considerably more distracting than Ichiro liked.

Mikael seemed to sense this and glanced askance at Ichiro. Pausing before leading the meeting on, he announced: "Sorry everyone for dragging this all out a bit, I'm actually just wasting time until--"

" _Hallooooo_!"

Everyone looked up. Ichiro blinked at the curious sound echoing from the front of the restaurant. It was a long "hello" but it sounded… not-quite-English accented, to Ichiro. "Who is that…?" he asked the group quietly.

Mikael smiled. "Right on cue." Tom's face lit up and he stood to open the door for the newcomer, who seemed to bound into the room as if sprinting. He skidded to a stop and raised his arms in greeting. He was perhaps a little taller than Ichiro but skinny, with long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a sort of wild expression in his eyes. "Isaac, how good of you to join us."

"Good afternoon, Master Mikael!" exclaimed the newcomer. Mikael smirked and pointed to the clock on the wall, and the stranger blinked and checked it. "Only morning? Auch, time changes. You know I was in Europe!"

Tom laughed. "Good morning cuz," he said, patting his "cousin" on the shoulder.

" _Mijn broer_!" The wild-eyed young man gave Tom a big hug, jumping up and down as he did so. "It's been too long! I--oh wait there's someone new here."

Ichiro blinked as he was finally noticed. "Uh, yeah--hi. I'm Ichiro Harrison. I'm a friend of Mikael's."

Isaac practically ran from Tom over to Ichiro, and before Ichiro could say anything more, grabbed Ichiro's hand and gave it a very enthusiastic shake. "Any friend of Mikael's is a friend of mine, _herr_ Ichiro!" Ichiro thought his arm was going to be shaken off, but finally the odd man let go and stepped back, giving a very regal bow with a flourish of his hands. "My name is Isaac Van Helsing-Belmont, and it is my estimable pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ichiro just stared wide eyed for a moment, looking at all the others in the room who were all smiling or chuckling to themselves. But something about Isaac's introduction had given him pause. "Isaac… wait, I know that name!" Isaac nodding knowingly, as Ichiro continued. "Belmont--wasn't that the name of the vampire hunter in that video game?"

This brought a chorus of laughter from everyone present. "Really, Ichiro? There was a movie called 'Van Helsing' that came out a few years ago," Mikael pointed out.

Ichiro blinked. "Oh yeah." Then he waved his arms. "But I really liked those games!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "They're silly. _Real_ vampires are much too sophisticated to be portrayed as… pixelated boss-monsters!"

"And yet they _are_ ," Chad pointed out with a smirk. Serena turned up her nose and ignored him.

Mikael explained. "We distribute many of the facts of our… shall we say, adventures? To writers, producers and everyone in between. In this way the legend of our exploits becomes myth and fiction in the eyes of humanity. If people hear tell of us they're likely to think we're just characters." He gestured to Tom and Isaac. "In the case of the Belmonts, Cami 'gave' the idea of a huge, magical castle to a Japanese game developer a few decades ago." Ichiro glanced at Cami, who winked. The memory of Cami's mental abilities returned to Ichiro and he shivered a little.

Tom walked over to his cousin, putting his arm around Isaac's shoulder. "We're not vampire hunters but we're both related to the original Belmonts. Isaac more than me."

Isaac made a strange, dismissive noise with his lips. " _Quatsch_! There's nothing more special about my blood than your blood, Thomas. Blood is blood. But enough about blood! It's not as though anyone here drinks it, ja?"

Cami giggled and Mikael rolled his eyes. Ichiro swallowed. "Uh, right. Sorry, mister… Van Helsing-Belmont--"

"Isaac!" exclaimed Isaac. "Don't call me anything but that--if I may call you Ichiro? Ichiro… the name has the sound of--oh it's Japanese, ja? Like the--"

" _I'm not named after the baseball player!_ " Ichiro shouted. This had the effect of earning even more laughter from the crowd, and Ichiro sullenly stuck his hands in his pockets and stuck out his lower lip in a fierce frown.

Isaac began waving his hands apologetically. "No no of course not, I do not follow the American baseball very much, apologies. I meant the hobby of Miss Camilla!"

Ichiro shivered. He wasn't sure he liked that association more than that of a famous athlete. He glanced at Cami, and noticed her smiling that evil little smile of hers. She was clearly having a great time.

Misty, who had been silent throughout the whole meeting, finally piped up. "Now that Isaac's here, can we _please_ get to the matter at hand Mikael?"

Mikael stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. Though I must warn that there's far less mirth involved with _that_ business than the happy meeting we've just witnessed." The group quieted and grew a touch somber. Mikael still smiled, but it was clear there was less warmth in his expression now. "Renfield _is_ alive."

Serena gave a little gasp and the rest of the human employees looked slightly worried. Bobby spoke up. "I'm pretty sure the story we heard was that he had been staked right through the heart."

"But not with magic," Mikael added. "And not beheaded."

Ichiro blanched at the talk of staking and decapitation. "Uh… that seems a little excessive…"

Misty shook her head. "Not by a long shot. Vampires--the whole reason vampires exist is because someone, a long time ago, desperately wanted to survive. Wanted power over death itself. It wasn't enough to simply live a long time--he or she wanted to shrug off nearly every injury a human being could sustain."

Cami nodded in agreement. "Vampires are exceedingly hard to kill in normal circumstances. That's why we were a bit shocked to find out those… hoodlums had slain Ruthven." Ichiro thought she looked uncomfortable as she spoke.

Mikael let out a breath. "After our last battle with Renfield, we were unable to take possession of his body and perform the necessary actions that would have truly destroyed him. The sources I questioned seemed to indicate he was _not_ in Europe."

Isaac raised his hand. "Uh, _verheizung bitte_ \--excuse me…! Why are we discussing the hundred-year-old dead man?"

Mikael smacked his forehead with his palm. "I beg your apology, Isaac, I had forgotten you were out of the country." He gestured to Ichiro. "Ichiro and I were attacked last week by vampire hunters."

Isaac seemed offended at the notion. "Not by any we know, I would hope!"

"Not at all," Mikael assured him. "Newcomers--English and Irish, it would seem, unaffiliated with the Belmonts or any of our allies."

Isaac practically fell into a chair with a dramatic flare. "Still--you were attacked! Here in Redmond?" Mikael confirmed this with a nod. "And you think _Renfield_ was involved?"

Cami spoke up. "We were all there--Misty, Mikael and I, along with Ichiro--" she glanced at Ichiro as she spoke, "--and their ringleader seemed all too pleased to drop _that_ name for us."

Isaac took all of this in and looked very thoughtful. "Disturbing news indeed. Ah, _vergib mir_ , I am interrupting and that won't do. Please continue!"

Mikael sighed. "I'm afraid there's precious little more to add. Renfield is in all likelihood hiding somewhere in America or Canada, and unlikely to make any overt moves until…" Mikael paused and took another breath.

Ichiro glanced around and asked, "Until what?"

Mikael looked at him. "Until he's sure we're not ready for him." Ichiro swallowed and Mikael continued. "He attacked me--and you--as a warning. As a means of scaring us. But he won't do anything drastic until we've lowered our guard."

Chad blinked. "Why do you say that sir?"

"Because," Mikael said grimly, "it's what I would have done. Wait until the proper moment to do the most damage possible." Mikael crossed his arms. "And make no mistake, he means to attack us. Ichiro would be dead without our timely intervention. I'm sure he'd like to slay every single vampire here but he seems to have no qualms with killing innocent humans as well."

Ichiro felt the color leave his cheeks. Mikael looked at him and the walked over, placing a hand on Ichiro's shoulder. Ichiro looked his friend in the eyes, with nothing but worry. "So what do we do about it?"

Mikael smiled, this time bright and happily. "We have fun."

Chad's face lit up and Tom raised his eyebrows, then asked, "The spring-break trip?"

Cami smiled brightly as well. "Oh good, I was looking forward to that!"

Ichiro was confused. It had been all doom and gloom, and then suddenly talk about spring break? "W-what… what the heck are you guys talking about? This is no time to be vacation planning!"

Misty smirked. "On the contrary, getting wound up and jumping at every shadow would be exactly what Renfield wants. So, we're not going to give him the satisfaction. Besides, it's really unlikely that he has any agents in Hawaii."

Now Ichiro's eyes were very wide. " _Hawaii_?"

Mikael spread his arms out. "We have business associates in Hawaii that supply a lot of the fruit we use here at the _Flying Fox_. We try to head over there once every year or so to check on the farms and plantations, plus the kids get a splendid vacation out of it."

Ichiro turned to see Chad, Tom and Isaac discussing what they would do in Hawaii. Serena seemed to be muttering about sunscreen and Bobby was talking to himself about books he planned on reading in his hotel room.

Ichiro walked over to Cami, Misty and Mikael, who were speaking quietly to themselves about preparations for the trip. "You guys are really going to Hawaii when all... _this_ is about to happen?"

"You're invited too, you know!" Cami said enthusiastically. "As far as I'm concerned you're one of us now." She glanced at Misty, who made a sour face at the notion.

"Whatever. At least he'll probably fit in just fine. He'll pass as a Japanese tourist, no worries there," Misty announced.

Ichiro ignored the racist comment and looked at Mikael. "R-really? I mean--is it really ok if I go?"

"That," Mikael said with a wry grin, "is probably up to your parents. But if you need help convincing them to let you spend a week in Hawaii, we can come up with something." He winked. "And we'll pay for all the expenses. No worries there."

\---

The talk of the trip kept going for some time, but Ichiro still felt out of place, like a tagalong that didn't really belong to the group, so he finally excused himself and went to the front room. The sun was shining brightly--he looked down and realized it was past noon, and he had skipped lunch.

He sat down and stared at the cover of his book. He had trouble reconciling the idea of a deadly vampire stalking him and his friends, and a vacation in tropical paradise at the same time.

He glanced up as Mikael entered the room. He leaned heavily on a table, light-blonde hair spilling forward to cover his face, and did not seem to notice Ichiro looking at him. Ichiro opened his mouth to speak but paused.

He watched carefully. Mikael seemed stressed, or tired. He took off his sunglasses, looking at the sun outside the windows of the restaurant and ran his hand through his hair. In that moment he seemed utterly defeated or depressed.

Ichiro rose quickly. "Mikael? Are you all right?"

The vampire's face changed quickly--he looked startled and embarrassed. "Ichiro? I didn't know you were still here--I thought you'd gone home."

Ichiro shook his head. "I'm still here. But-- _are_ you all right?" he repeated.

Mikael gave him a sad sort of smile. "I'll be fine, Ichiro. I've just a bit of… jet lag, you could call it. Lots of traveling takes its toll on vampires, not just humans."

He ran his hand over his hair again, and suddenly Ichiro remembered what Cami had told him.  _If you ever see him run his hand through his hair--especially if he sounds tired--it means his energy is running low._ The thought of Cami's suggestion on how to deal with the situation made Ichiro blush. Could he really… kiss Mikael? But if it was to save him…

"W-well," Ichiro said, "if you say so. You know, if there's… s-something I should do to help…" he tried to say, stuttering with nervousness.

Mikael's face was warm and kind. "I feel as though we should be doing more to help you. I just--" Mikael tried to say, still leaning on the table, when his hand slipped. He nearly fell over--and Ichiro rushed forward.

Even as he helped Mikael to stand straight, he brought his face in and touched his lips to Mikael's. Ichiro wondered if he was doing it correctly… he had his eyes closed, as he'd seen people do when they kissed in movies… but he had never kissed anyone before, not like this! Mikael seemed to do nothing. _Is this even working_? Ichiro thought to himself.

Slowly, Ichiro opened his eyes--to see Mikael's blue eyes staring at him in shock. Mikael was frozen solid. Apparently he was far more shocked than he was grateful--if the kiss was giving him any energy at all. "The… table was wet and my hand slipped," Mikael said in explanation.

Ichiro was beginning to think Cami had misguided him.

His suspicion was confirmed by a high-pitched, tittering giggle from another booth. "That took _forever_! It's been a week but I swear it felt like months."

" _Cami!_ " they both yelled in unison.

"I can't believe you'd do something like that!" Ichiro exclaimed in frustration.

"How dare you!?" Mikael demanded to know. The only response Cami gave was another of her malicious little smiles, as if she had already seen this event in a dream.  Ichiro recoiled in shock as he realized Serena was sitting next to her, trying hard not to be noticed behind the seat of the booth.

Ichiro pointed accusingly. "You conspired! You manipulated me! How could you do such a thing!?" He glanced at Mikael, terrified of what his friend might think of him now, but he was going to make it _very_ clear it wasn't his idea. How else might he salvage his relationship with Mikael? "Apologize!" he demanded.

"I agree completely," Mikael said. Ichiro sighed with relief--he was glad Mikael felt the same way. Ichiro folded his arms and nodded as Mikael continued. "Apologize to Ichiro this instant."

Ichiro kept nodding a moment longer, then blinked. "Wait--apologize to me? Don't you mean she should apologize to you?"

Cami's cackling only increased as Mikael blinked back at Ichiro. "Why--I mean--she was the one who told you to do that… wasn't she? She lied to you!"

Ichiro stammered again. "W-well yeah but… I thought you were… uh… unwell. She said kissing you would give you energy… But I didn't want to embarrass you! So… she should be apologizing to you… right?"

"This is TOTALLY going in my fan fiction," Serena whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Cami leapt out of her booth and walked between the two gentlemen, patting them both on the shoulder. "I would apologize… for giving you both _exactly_ what you wanted… but, I don't feel the least bit sorry!" She practically skipped to the door, taking out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. "Oh… and you're welcome!" she added as she left the two men in stunned silence.

Serena blinked as they both turned to her, scowling for her participation in the event. She quickly yelled "Ihavetogohomesorry!" and sprinted to the door as well.

Ichiro and Mikael stood silently, unwilling to speak or even look at each other for a long moment. Finally, Mikael said, "I think we need to talk… but… later. I… need to rest."

Ichiro nodded quickly. "Right, right. Um. I'll um… come by tomorrow." Neither of them could seem to meet the other's gaze, so Ichiro simply walked to the door quickly, conflicting emotions raging within him.

Before he left, Mikael called out. "And… Ichiro?"

Ichiro paused and turned to look at Mikael. The vampire was smiling. "Remember to get some swim trunks. We're leaving the first week of March.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I present to you the end of "Book 1" of Fruit Bats. :D I bet a lot of people are anxious to see more, but I'm going to take a break for a while and write up a backlog to give myself more breathing room in the future. Prepare for Fruit Bats: Vampires in Paradise!
> 
> Regarding this particular chapter, meet Isaac: great-great-many-greats Grandson of Abraham Van Helsing from _Dracula_. And yes, he's also related to the Belmonts, as is Tom--they're cousins, though "Mijn broer" is Dutch for "My brother" as Isaac and Tom are very close.
> 
> Fruit Bats started off as _Seraph_ fan fiction, but I found there are a lot of vampire stories--many of which coming from Japan--that I'm drawn to. I do love _Dracula_ , but I'm not a fan of the Anne Rice books, nor do I enjoy _Twilight_ very much. I find the Japanese have a lot more FUN with vampires, and since fun is what this story is about, I'm using them a bit more. So far I've referenced _Hellsing_ , _Castlevania_ , but there are others I'll be drawing from as well... Without revealing too much, let's just say I'm a big _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_ fan. ^_^
> 
> This chapter also marks the first advert romantic activity between Mikael and Ichiro. I know a lot of people have been clamoring for me to do something like this for a while. What can I say? I love to tease! Hawaii will probably explore more of their relationship. I would also like to give Cami some time in the spotlight but that's probably a bit further out.
> 
> And yes, I really am taking this cast of colorful characters to Hawaii--after all, it's a colorful place... and the fruit! I really like taro, personally, but pineapple is a favorite too. Mmmm it makes my mouth water just thinking about it! I took a trip to Hawaii in March and the adventures of the Fruit Bats will mirror much of what I saw--I took a lot of notes, so hopefully it will feel authentic. But for now, I bid you folks farewell. See you in a few weeks!


End file.
